Rossini - Guglielmo Tell / Zancanaro, Merritt, Studer, Surjan, d¿Intino, Muti, La Scala Opera

Rating:
Summary: Good cast, good conductor, old production.
Review: This production of Rossini's William Tell is musically good. Singers are wellknown and on their best (Studer, Merrit). Maestro Muti conducts with energy and sensibility. After the first two long acts, the opera beomes more and more interesting.
The only problem, is that the decor is constituted by natural sceneries from swizerland, projected on different screws moving to bring a little bit of diversity on the stage. The colour are not well definited, every thing is green and grey because of the lack of colour of the film, so the production is not so "televisual".
But, this opera is not so ofen plaid in opera house, and the musical production is on a high level. So for the music...

Rating:
Summary: An Uncut 'William Tell' from La Scala
Review: This production, from the late 1980s, is from La Scala and had been released previously on both DVD and VHS, but I've heard those were in an inferior transfer. This 2 DVD set is from the original RAI television production and the visuals are quite sharp, the sound lifelike. The stage setting itself features a singing area up front that is rather generic but allows for credible movement of the chorus and principals. The background is made of up of three huge projections of appropriately selected video scenes from the Swiss countryside, primarily of forest and mountain views, and although it is occasionally distracting, it is spectacular scenery and contributes to the sylvan mood of the opera.

The direction by Riccardo Muti is characteristically top-notch. He is clearly a conductor for whom the Rossini score means a great deal. The Scala orchestra, which appears larger than usual in this production, is very fine. (The famous overture is played brilliantly.) The principals, including Americans Cheryl Studer as Matilde and Chris Merritt as Arnoldo, the romantic leads, are world-class. Studer later had vocal troubles, but at the time of this production she sounded to be in good vocal health. Merritt, then at the height of his fame as a Rossini tenor, is thrilling. The other principals include a believably heroic and sonorous Giorgio Zancanaro as William Tell, Luigi Roni as Gessler, the villain, Giorgio Surjan as Gualtiero, and a too-young but vocally effective Franco de Grandis as Melchtal, Arnoldo's father. Tell's two children, Jemmy and Edwige are nicely done by Amelia Felle and Ludicana D'Intino. Ballet sequences are appropriately rustic and the sparkling dancing of prima ballerina Carla Fracci is a real delight.

It is wonderful to have the uncut 'Guglielmo Tell,' but it is hard to sit through the whole almost four hours without a break. I broke it up into two evenings' viewing, two acts each evening. There are no extras with the DVD except for English subtitles (which is the default setting). There is a complete Italian libretto printed in the provided booklet.

Scott Morrison