Verdi - Ernani / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera

Rating:
Summary: Good in every way.
Review: A terrific performance! I have never had the opertunity to see this opera. The DVD was a good way to see it.

Rating:
Summary: What a treat to see this terrific opera.
Review: A terrific performance! I have never had the opertunity to see this opera. The DVD was a good way to see it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful music superbly sung and played!
Review: Anyone who hasn't heard the previous VHS version of this performance has missed a whole lot of just about everything great there is to be heard in this or any medium. The dvd just enhances what is already a superb performance even if the production is somewhat claroscuro. The Met likes Verdi in the dark as witnessed by the present Il Trovatore production. Buy it, cherish it and revel in its vocal splendor. Levine does wonders with the Met orchestra.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT MUSIC, GREAT VOICES, GREAT VIDEO!
Review: Even though it is not much performed nowadays, Ernani has got some of Verdi's finest music. The libretto is quite dreadful, but if you ignore its weaknesses you are most likely to fall for this opera. Since it is very hard to sing, almost as difficult as Trovatore, it demands top class singers. This video brings what is perhaps the best performance ever of this Verdi early masterpiece. The whole cast is just great! Pavarotti is a stunning Ernani and Ruggero Raimondi, perhaps the most beautiful bass voice of our days, sings a Duke that can not be matched. Sherril Milnes, Leona Mitchel and Maestro Levine are superb. If you are an opera lover, you can not miss this one. Buy it now. It is worth every single penny you pay for it.

Rating:
Summary: Early Verdi at its best!
Review: George Bernard Shaw described Ernani as Verdi's most intense opera, and in this rendition, all of the musical and visual elements of the work that so pleased the irascible Shaw come together marvelously. Who better to conduct it than James Levine, today's best interpreter of Verdi, and considered by many to be the heir to Toscanini. Young and still vocally secure, Pavarotti sings with boldness and color, with few of the extra syllables which mar so much of his middle years. Milnes, in the manner of Leonard Warren, is perfect in the role of Carlo and Leona Mitchell, while not quite the Verdian as Leontyne Price, fully realizes her part. Considering that this is a 1983 recording, this DVD shows how well the medium captures both the visual and musical elements of opera in general and Ernani in particular. A standing ovation for such a grand performance of a grand opera! And by the way, for folks who think that Verdi didn't hit his stride until Rigoletto, here is the proof of how truly great his earlier works are.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent early Verdi.
Review: I have to confess that until my wife bought this DVD for my birthday I had never heard a complete version of Ernani. It is certainly an excellent example from his "Galley years" of things to come. Am I alone in sometimes thinking I had strayed into Il Trovatore? The title role suits Pavarotti's voice perfectly and he gives us a display of his usual vocal splendour and exemplary breath control and diction. What a star he is, if any one from the Met reads this then please release both of his Met relays of "Ballo" on DVD as soon as possible. However, it would have been the icing on the cake if he had attempted to act a little more. Still I suppose you can't have everything. Although, look at his first Ballo on VHS; that will scotch all rumours that he can't act. I realise that Leona Mitchell is revered in NY, and her portrayal of Lui and Michaela at the Met are very good - but she is totally miscast here. The role stretches her to the limit and reveals some very unpleasant vocal lines - showing up a major defficiency in her technique. I am afraid that she is the weak link in this production, a view apparently not shared by the audience who go wild for her. I am afraid to say that she does nothing for me. Everyone else is superb - and Levine takes charge with his usual verve - making this a very enjoyable and exciting night at the opera.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent early Verdi.
Review: I have to confess that until my wife bought this DVD for my birthday I had never heard a complete version of Ernani. It is certainly an excellent example from his "Galley years" of things to come. Am I alone in sometimes thinking I had strayed into Il Trovatore? The title role suits Pavarotti's voice perfectly and he gives us a display of his usual vocal splendour and exemplary breath control and diction. What a star he is, if any one from the Met reads this then please release both of his Met relays of "Ballo" on DVD as soon as possible. However, it would have been the icing on the cake if he had attempted to act a little more. Still I suppose you can't have everything. Although, look at his first Ballo on VHS; that will scotch all rumours that he can't act. I realise that Leona Mitchell is revered in NY, and her portrayal of Lui and Michaela at the Met are very good - but she is totally miscast here. The role stretches her to the limit and reveals some very unpleasant vocal lines - showing up a major defficiency in her technique. I am afraid that she is the weak link in this production, a view apparently not shared by the audience who go wild for her. I am afraid to say that she does nothing for me. Everyone else is superb - and Levine takes charge with his usual verve - making this a very enjoyable and exciting night at the opera.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry to disagree
Review: I wonder if those who are enthusiastic about this performance have seen the Muti/La Scala performance with Domingo, Freni, Bruson, and Ghiarov? That one is fiery and exciting. I found this production plodding. Of course, Pavarotti sings well, but Leona Mitchell does not have the flexibility in her voice to sing the role well. I recommend waiting for the La Scala production - with all 4 singers and Muti in superb form, though the sets are sometimes ludicrous.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry to disagree
Review: I wonder if those who are enthusiastic about this performance have seen the Muti/La Scala performance with Domingo, Freni, Bruson, and Ghiarov? That one is fiery and exciting. I found this production plodding. Of course, Pavarotti sings well, but Leona Mitchell does not have the flexibility in her voice to sing the role well. I recommend waiting for the La Scala production - with all 4 singers and Muti in superb form, though the sets are sometimes ludicrous.

Rating:
Summary: Good in every way.
Review: Outstanding in almost every way. The staging is impressive, the costumes are attractive. The singing is superlative. The public may be most interested in Pavarotti, but the real winner here is Sherrill Milnes. He is an intense and noble figure throughout. His third act aria is the opera's highlight, in my opinion, where he reaches a powerful Ab. Raimondi is also outstanding. I was so happy that his cabaletta was not cut out, and, was not cut at all: Both verses are performed. In fact, Verdi lovers will rejoice that this performance is complete. There is an alternate tenor aria included as well. Purchase without hesitation, for this is a winner. Dana Hill