Rating: 
Summary: Quantitative Evaluation
Review: Audio Merits:4/10; Video Merits:5/10; Scenario-Libretto Merits:5/10;Cinematographic Merits:6/10; Musical Merits:7/10, Overall Artistic Performance:4/10; DVD Extras:2/10; Recording Total Quality:4/10. Professor's Comment: It is to be said that Vivaldi's Opera is not of major importance.This DVD exhibits minor operatic composition with minor artistic performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely a Baroque Masterpiece
Review: Before I saw this work I didn't really care for Baroque opera. But since then I thought this was one of the best operas ever written. If you could compare it with food it would be dark chocolate. Vivaldi had good taste when it came to writing violin concerti but when it came to opera he was AWESOME!!! The other thing I like about this production is the performers. Marilyn Horne's voice is perfect for that sort of role. The other character that I like is Bradamante sung by Sandra Walker. I love her deep alto voice. Its definitely strong and flowing at the same time. I also like the stage set-up. The way that it transforms after each aria is awesome. I would definitely recommend this opera to any Baroque opera lover
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a Baroque Masterpiece
Review: I love Vivaldi's music and was really looking forward to my first Vivaldi opera. Orlando Furioso did NOT disappoint!Let's face the fact that the story is really pure hokum, but then it is opera and who cares? The music absolutely knocked me out and the virtuoso performances by all involved is something you must see to believe. After a month of sad times after 9/11, I just had to have something to take me away from this world, and this DVD did the trick! If you can watch this one and still be melancholy, I don't know what else to recommend. Buy it, enjoy it again and again as we have!
Rating:
Summary: Music to die for!
Review: I love Vivaldi's music and was really looking forward to my first Vivaldi opera. Orlando Furioso did NOT disappoint! Let's face the fact that the story is really pure hokum, but then it is opera and who cares? The music absolutely knocked me out and the virtuoso performances by all involved is something you must see to believe. After a month of sad times after 9/11, I just had to have something to take me away from this world, and this DVD did the trick! If you can watch this one and still be melancholy, I don't know what else to recommend. Buy it, enjoy it again and again as we have!
Rating: 
Summary: It was great to see an opera that is not often presented.
Review: I was not crazy about the opera but I was happy to get a chance to see it. I thought Marilyn Horn was terrific. I enjoyed the set and the costumes.
Rating:
Summary: It was great to see an opera that is not often presented.
Review: I was not crazy about the opera but I was happy to get a chance to see it. I thought Marilyn Horn was terrific. I enjoyed the set and the costumes.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning performance of a Baroque masterwork
Review: This is a beautiful rare performance of one of many often- neglected Baroque masterworks. I found the production lively, faithful to the spirit of the piece. The costumes are stunningly beautiful and the arias are very well sung. Much has been said in praise of Marilyn Horne's performance so I will concentrate on Kathleen Kuhlmann's excellent performance as Alcina. Alcina's arias are among the most inspired in this work of so many inspired, moving arias and Kathleen Kuhlmann never fails to make of each a separate treat. She has great stage presence and is able to convey the idea that Alcina is in fact a very complex character: evil and selfish, yes, but also lonely and in desperate need of affection and therefore very vulnerable. Kuhlmann is also a very attractive woman, which is essential to the role. "Orlando Furioso" is a strong reminder of what many of us have known all along: Baroque opera is a treasure house of extraordinary masterpieces which modern audiences still have to discover, from the great operas of Handel to the works of the very talented Italian composers, Vivaldi being the greatest of them.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning performance of a Baroque masterwork
Review: This is a beautiful rare performance of one of many often- neglected Baroque masterworks. I found the production lively, faithful to the spirit of the piece. The costumes are stunningly beautiful and the arias are very well sung. Much has been said in praise of Marilyn Horne's performance so I will concentrate on Kathleen Kuhlmann's excellent performance as Alcina. Alcina's arias are among the most inspired in this work of so many inspired, moving arias and Kathleen Kuhlmann never fails to make of each a separate treat. She has great stage presence and is able to convey the idea that Alcina is in fact a very complex character: evil and selfish, yes, but also lonely and in desperate need of affection and therefore very vulnerable. Kuhlmann is also a very attractive woman, which is essential to the role. "Orlando Furioso" is a strong reminder of what many of us have known all along: Baroque opera is a treasure house of extraordinary masterpieces which modern audiences still have to discover, from the great operas of Handel to the works of the very talented Italian composers, Vivaldi being the greatest of them.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great work by Vivaldi.
Review: This is a glorious work by Vivaldi. It is a live, high-energy production. Of course, you have to accept the usual blemishes and imperfections of a live production. The only other production I know is an earlier (1977) recording, also with Marilyn Horne. I was expecting to hear a baritone as Ruggiero. This production has a counter-tenor or something like that: Jeffrey Gall. Normally I find counter-tenors annoying, but Jeffrey Gall quickly won me over. In fact, all the singers are wonderful. The staging, costumes, etc. are excellent. If you like Vivaldi, you definitely want this DVD. Watch for the moments when Alcina (Kathleen Kuhlmann) flirts. You will enjoy the statues. What fun! The only disappointment is not in the production, but that no synopsis is included. There is a hint at the plot included in a few sentences on the back of the case. You will need to get the synopsis somewhere else. Just reading the back of the case and following the subtitles won't be enough to know what is happening. Why do the people who make DVD's have to be so stingy? How hard would it be to include a synopsis?
Rating:
Summary: This is a great work by Vivaldi.
Review: This is a glorious work by Vivaldi. It is a live, high-energy production. Of course, you have to accept the usual blemishes and imperfections of a live production. The only other production I know is an earlier (1977) recording, also with Marilyn Horne. I was expecting to hear a baritone as Ruggiero. This production has a counter-tenor or something like that: Jeffrey Gall. Normally I find counter-tenors annoying, but Jeffrey Gall quickly won me over. In fact, all the singers are wonderful. The staging, costumes, etc. are excellent. If you like Vivaldi, you definitely want this DVD. Watch for the moments when Alcina (Kathleen Kuhlmann) flirts. You will enjoy the statues. What fun! The only disappointment is not in the production, but that no synopsis is included. There is a hint at the plot included in a few sentences on the back of the case. You will need to get the synopsis somewhere else. Just reading the back of the case and following the subtitles won't be enough to know what is happening. Why do the people who make DVD's have to be so stingy? How hard would it be to include a synopsis?
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