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Rating: 
Summary: Naxos did this properly
Review: I agree with the comments made by Flesh And Wine below. The lousy sound quality is particularly infuriating because the sound is much better on the Naxos CD(8.554096-97)release of this performance. The CD also includes the libretto in both Italian and English.It's unfortunate that subtitles are usually only provided for operas. I find they greatly add to my enjoyment of any long vocal works such as oratorios, passions, and song cycles.
Rating:
Summary: Naxos did this properly
Review: I agree with the comments made by Flesh And Wine below. The lousy sound quality is particularly infuriating because the sound is much better on the Naxos CD(8.554096-97)release of this performance. The CD also includes the libretto in both Italian and English. It's unfortunate that subtitles are usually only provided for operas. I find they greatly add to my enjoyment of any long vocal works such as oratorios, passions, and song cycles.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Recording
Review: This seems to be a fine performance of Emilio de Cavalieri's proto-opera, but it's hard to tell since the audio recording is so poor. A couple of soloists are barely audible, and the orchestra sounds unbalanced. I don't know if the problem lay with the hall acoustics or the engineering, but with all the microphones they had scattered about, obtaining a decent mix shouldn't have been difficult. Contrary to the audio information on the DVD, the sound is two-channel not six-. Very little information is provided on the package or on the DVD itself, not even the composer's first name. A spoken dialogue at the beginning is subtitled in English but nothing else is in either Italian or English which seems remiss for a vocal work. Of course no booklet is provided to make up the lack. Perhaps something can be found on the Internet. The basilica is beautiful, but the rotating camera shots of the ceiling are overdone. Also, what appear to be tourists wander around in the apse behind the orchestra causing some distraction for the viewer. I enjoy this performance, but I wish the producers had done a better job with the DVD. Does it cost that much more to provide subtitles?
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