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Rating: 
Summary: Bravi! Bravi! Bravi!
Review: An absolute stunner! Crank it up in 5.1 and prepare to transcend. The video transfer's a bit murky, but the shots are well chosen and serve the passages smartly. It's an aural knockout, pure bliss!
Rating:
Summary: A good thing just got better....
Review: I admit it, I love this performance. I have the CD and the video and both have been played to death. The DVD brings the extra versatility of that medium, such as the ability to go to any part of the performance quickly, or to Gardiner's interesting essay on the piece. My one minor quibble is that the red shifts in which the Monteverdi choir are decked out seem to glow; they do this on the video, and I was hoping that DVD would tame it. Alas, it seems to be a flaw in the filming.The performance remains an absolute knockout, IMHO simply the best ever recorded. Followers of the devotional school, who go for Andrew Parrott's minimalist version, hate it and will stay away. Those who like the CD will absolutely adore this, with choir, soloists and instrumentalists making full use of San Marco's acoustics and odd nooks and crannies. The orchestra (the English Baroque Soloists, with 5 players from His Majesties Cornetts and Sagbutts) is quite small - it's amazing how so few players can make such a racket in such a big space. The stars of the show is the Monteverdi Choir itself (singing from memory, without scores), which is simply stunning. You'll never hear the big choral numbers such as "Nisi Dominus" and "Lauda Jerusalem" sung with such precision and excitement - they give me goosebumps on my goosebumps. And in the middle of it all is Gardiner, obviously having a ball. Three cheers for Archiv for bringing back this brilliant record of a unique event.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing purchase
Review: My expectations for this DVD were very high given who the musicians are. Everything pointed to a great purchase, but I will not be playing it again because the video quality is just too poor. There is also some annoying clicking and the image gets very unreal, almost like something computer generated. It could have been wonderful, given the illustrious singers, conductor and locale but someone did not take enough care in its production. Too bad!
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning
Review: This inspired version of Monteverdi's "Vespro della Beata Vergine" by John Eliot Gardiner I first saw on Christmas 1989 as a BBC simulcast. So many years later, as a DVD, its innovative rendering is as fresh as ever and the picture quality is holding up reasonably well too. For me this performance is still the best version of Monteverdi's master work. John Eliot Gardiner researched this work thoroughly. There is no gimmickry in his rendition, but it feels as if in his mind's eye he had collaborated across the centuries with the ancient composer to produce a truly outstanding performance. We are all familiar with Gardiner's masterly use of early instruments and the careful selection and balancing of soloists voices and this performance makes full use of all of this. The obvious choice of the location for this performance was Venice's San Marco, where Monteverdi spent much of his career. But it is far from obvious how John Eliot Gardiner used the near perfect acoustic space of this church. Every voice and instrument is placed just right to render a superb sound picture. The "Vespers" ranges from powerful full sound of orchestra and singers to intimate love songs. In support of the need of this diversity Gardiner makes the singers change positions to the various balconies and alcoves throughout the performance. This is a truly memorable performance. I deducted one star of my ratings for the regrettable omission of the subtitles from the original BBC telecast.
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