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Rating: 
Summary: Quite interesting
Review: I purchased this set because I found very interesting to have the three Mozart/da Ponte operas in one box.
And expecially the veterans Renato Bruson in DON GIOVANNI and Rolando Panerai in COSI made the purchase really interesting.
After watching it I agree more with the second reviewer than with the third.
First of all I found the technical aspects of the DVDs quite good, sound and image well produced. It is indeed the result of live performances, so of course a few times there are some minor problems. Sets are quite nice, direction quite boring and with no particular brilliance. The conductors and the orchestra are fairly good, the strongest singers are definitely in don Giovanni.
Panerai, notwithstanding his experience doesn't look and sound particularly interesting, and the other COSI singers are quite ordinary. Same feeling for NOZZE singers.
Bruson as the DON doesn't sound fresh in voice anymore (is he in his late 60's?!) but his artistic skills are great, he portrays a quite mature, very fine Giovanni, with a beautifully sung "Deh Vieni alla finestra".
Among the women I liked Nizza as Donna Elvira, I wish she would have sung "Mi tradi" (this aria is not performed in this edition) because she sounds and looks very well indeed.
Potenza as Zerlina (she is also Suzanna in NOZZE) is quite dull, out of pitch and a bad actress. Longo as Donna Anna has a nice and powerful voice but not really too much in control of it, and she always looks worried. Luca Canonici is a very fine and virile don Ottavio, not the usual whimp.
The best in the cast is definitely de Peppo as Leporello, who plays the role with a beautiful, rich voice and draws an unusually human and colourful Leporello, not the usual clownesque buffo that we unfortunately often see. Kudos to him.
I had hoped they would show some of the interiors of beautiful Teatro Argentina in Rome where these operas were filmed live, but unfortunately they did not.I am quite glad I buyed it, and recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag
Review: These are live performances filmed in 2002 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. They are the mastermind of Enrico Castiglione, who is in charge of stage and TV direction, set design and costumes. By and large he has done a fine job. This set is an enticing proposition, especially at the bargain price of three operas, each in a separate box, for practically the price of one. First off, the positives and there are many. Three great Mozart operas in outstanding sound, finely balanced between voices and orchestra, with woodwinds nicely forward (two channel only, sound aficionados note). The anamorphic widescreen picture is excellent, although occasionally the focus falters very briefly a few times, not a big deal. Sets are modest but traditional, unobtrusive and convincing. The singers are almost all young and fresh, offering a good deal of vocal pleasure. Plus, nearly all the characters look the part which is important. Castiglione pulls no punches with his stage direction which is straightforward and solid. Costumes are inviting and do the works justice. Audience applause is minimal and seems to have been edited out at times, keeping intact dramatic continuity. That said, the only outstanding performance here is Don Giovanni. Led by the experienced and wily Don of Renato Bruson, one of the very few veteran singers in these performances, this one crackles with excitement, fine voices and solid characterizations. Dramatically, vocally, emotionally, it all works. This is the only performance here which seems of a piece. The entire cast is strong. Bruson looks a bit old but he knows what he is doing, is in fine voice and commands the stage. He is superbly paired with possibly the best singer in all three operas, the rich, plangent Leporello of Stefano De Peppo. They feed off of each other with relish. Anna Laura Longo's Donna Anna and Amarilli Nizza's Donna Elvira are strong and excellent. Rosanna Potenza's Zerlina has the requisite charm and she is ably partnered by Alessandro Battiato's fine Masetto. The orchestra in all three operas, the Rome Philharmonic, has its best outing here under the dynamic Michael Halasz, known on CDs for his expert recordings of several operas on Naxos, including Fidelio and Magic Flute. Cosi fan tutte is a mixed bag. Besides Bruson, the other noted veteran in these casts is Rolando Panerai. His Don Alfonso, along with Daniela Mazzuccato's Despina, are well enough sung, but both seem as if they'd rather be somewhere else. Neither seems to be enjoying themselves very much. Ensemble is critical in Cosi and the chemistry among the four young, romantic leads is OK but does seem forced at times. Most convincing are the fetching Fiordiligi of Adriana Damato and the rich voiced Guglielmo of Riccardo Novaro. The stodgy conducting of Paolo Ponziano Ciardi doesn't help matters. Castiglione makes one of his only dramatic missteps in not making enough visual contrast between Guglielmo and Ferrando and their Albanian counterparts, tough as that is to pull off. A wispy moustache and new uniform simply don't cut it. It's hard to swallow for the characters and the audience. This one is decent but on DVD go to Gardiner's traditional staging and Barenboim's fetching hippy version. The weakest of these performances is Figaro, let down by the petulant, practically neurotic Susanna of Rossana Potenza. She hardly relaxes the whole time and lacks the charm the role needs. Her interactions with the cast are strained and uninviting. When Marcellina, Bartolo and Basilio badly show up Susanna, Figaro and the Countess at the end of Act 11, you know you're in trouble. The dark, well sung Figaro of José Fardilha is the vocal highlight of the performance although he comes off more as a pudgy Boy Scout than a vibrant Figaro. Tiziana Carraro's Cherubino is well enough sung although not masculine looking enough. Madelyn Renée Monti's Countess looks and acts the part but the voice is undistinguished. Unfortunately, Marco Grimaldi's Count is the weakest vocal performance in all three operas. The voice is unpleasant, actually painful and his acting dull. He and Susanna badly brought down the performance. Skip this one. Haitink's Glyndebourne Figaro and the Lyon Opera Figaro are excellent choices. All told, I give five stars to Don Giovanni, three to Cosi and one to Figaro. Subtitles are good but often too high up on the screen, interfering somewhat with the action. The orchestra is decent, the strings tending to falter occasionally, mostly in Figaro and Cosi. Annoyingly in closeups, any character with dark hair usually ends up with red hair!
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible...
Review: This box-set of the three Mozart-DaPonte operas were filmed during a set of live performances in Rome in 2002. Bottom line: not one production is even remotely competitive with other performances on DVD, and my advice is to steer clear of this set entirely. The negatives are overwhelming. While the singers are for the most part young, and almost all Italian (often a plus) in this case they seem simply like inexperienced amateurs, lacking both the singing and acting chops to make these masterpieces come to life. The sets and stagings are traditional in a dull, cliched, unimaginative sort of way. The orchestra, the "Rome Philharmonic" is simply awful; tonally ugly, scrawny strings, slack ensemble, etc. From the moment I heard them "approximate" their way through the overture to Marriage of Figaro I knew I was in for an excruciating experience... To top it off, the sound is thin and washed-out, and has a low volume level which requires you to crank up the volume knob quite high to get a satisfying sound level (though given how awful the orchestra is, I doubt you'll want to amplify them too much). Oh yeah, no surround sound. Not even a PCM digital track - 2 channel dolby digital only (about the lowest standard you can get - unfortunately, this - as well as the low volume level - is typical of Kultur releases). Also no booklet, extras, or anything else that might add value (also typical of Kultur). Picture quality is good, however. These performances may have been acceptable seen live at a small, amateur, opera company, or even in a student production, but they should never have seen the light of day on DVD, and Kultur should be ashamed of themselves for releasing them to the public - even at discount price. With so many fine alternatives on the market, this just won't cut it. Although it will cost you more, I would recommend any of the following productions for those interested in these operas on DVD: Figaro: Bohm/VPO on TDK (black and white w/ mono sound, but by far the best on DVD right now - wonderful) or the Lyon production on Kultur... Cosi: Gardiner on DG (perfection) Don Giovanni: Glyndbourne production on Kulture (modern staging, but best overall so far) or for a more traditional staging, Conlon/Cologne Opera on Arthaus (not perfect, but acceptable - crummy subtitles, though)
Rating:
Summary: Horrible...
Review: This box-set of the three Mozart-DaPonte operas were filmed during a set of live performances in Rome in 2002. Bottom line: not one production is even remotely competitive with other performances on DVD, and my advice is to steer clear of this set entirely. The negatives are overwhelming. While the singers are for the most part young, and almost all Italian (often a plus) in this case they seem simply like inexperienced amateurs, lacking both the singing and acting chops to make these masterpieces come to life. The sets and stagings are traditional in a dull, cliched, unimaginative sort of way. The orchestra, the "Rome Philharmonic" is simply awful; tonally ugly, scrawny strings, slack ensemble, etc. From the moment I heard them "approximate" their way through the overture to Marriage of Figaro I knew I was in for an excruciating experience... To top it off, the sound is thin and washed-out, and has a low volume level which requires you to crank up the volume knob quite high to get a satisfying sound level (though given how awful the orchestra is, I doubt you'll want to amplify them too much). Oh yeah, no surround sound. Not even a PCM digital track - 2 channel dolby digital only (about the lowest standard you can get - unfortunately, this - as well as the low volume level - is typical of Kultur releases). Also no booklet, extras, or anything else that might add value (also typical of Kultur). Picture quality is good, however. These performances may have been acceptable seen live at a small, amateur, opera company, or even in a student production, but they should never have seen the light of day on DVD, and Kultur should be ashamed of themselves for releasing them to the public - even at discount price. With so many fine alternatives on the market, this just won't cut it. Although it will cost you more, I would recommend any of the following productions for those interested in these operas on DVD: Figaro: Bohm/VPO on TDK (black and white w/ mono sound, but by far the best on DVD right now - wonderful) or the Lyon production on Kultur... Cosi: Gardiner on DG (perfection) Don Giovanni: Glyndbourne production on Kulture (modern staging, but best overall so far) or for a more traditional staging, Conlon/Cologne Opera on Arthaus (not perfect, but acceptable - crummy subtitles, though)
Rating: 
Summary: Too good to be true.
Review: Well folks, here's the holy triumvirate. The three operas Mozart wrote with his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Widely considered to be among the greatest works of art ever created by a human being, now availible on DVD. This is an incredible deal rather than purchasing each opera individually.
Rating:
Summary: Too good to be true.
Review: Well folks, here's the holy triumvirate. The three operas Mozart wrote with his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Widely considered to be among the greatest works of art ever created by a human being, now availible on DVD. This is an incredible deal rather than purchasing each opera individually.
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