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Rating: 
Summary: SHUFFLING FEET
Review: I suppose what the other reader reviews have said is true, BUT:I was unimpressed by the small stage, scenery, and the acting. If you turn off the video to just hear the music, you will be treated to an inordinate amount of foot shuffling and strange bangings from the chorus. I've watched it three times and my opinion remains the same.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps the best Rossini DVD available
Review: L'Italiana in Algeri is Rossini at his very best. First performed in Venice in 1813 when Rossini was but 21 years old, this most enchanting opera buffa soon took Europe by storm. Arthaus offers a production conducted by Ralf Weikert that captures magnificently the hilarity and madness of Rossini's first comic masterpiece. The singers and orchestra are magnificent, as are the costumes, sets and props--the live monkey adds a most comical touch! Watching the act 1 finale alone is worth the price of this DVD. Without doubt this would be a terrific first opera for the opera curioius, especially for anyone thinking that opera is always tragic and deadly serious. This production is a real treat, and only gets better with repeated viewings. A bubbling performance all around!
Rating:
Summary: Yet another pearl from Schwetzinger
Review: The series of operas from the Schwetzinger Festival being released on the ARTHAUS label is proving to be a series of pearls, and this production is no exception. From the opening bars of the overture the RSO Stuttgart and the conductor Ralf Weikert play with such energy and warmth they sound as though they have all just returned from a holiday in southern Italy. The direction, as always with Michael Hampe, has the advantage of always keeping the action moving and has some truly inspired moments, especially the hilarious Finale of Act 1. Each of the singers has been chosen not only for their singing, but also for their acting, suitability for their role and their ability to be a member of a true ensemble. Doris Soffel truly shines as Isabella (this was 1987, pre Cecelia Bartoli), Robert Gambill is a Rossini tenor blessed with great beauty of tone and flexibility which is only slightly marred some pushing at the extreme top of his range, and Enric Serra is a baritone with the everything it takes to make Taddeo both humorous and yet strangely appealing. Gunther von Kannen is truly fabulous as Mustafa in terms of tone colour and his inspired, yet not over the top, comic acting, it is therefore a great shame that his voice is just not flexible enough to cope with the coloratura demands of the role. His uncredited side-kick is a hoot as well - but you'll have to buy this one to find out what I mean. Do yourself a favour! This DVD is a real winner that I dare you not to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A good visual material, not a musical one
Review: This is a good video if you are expecting for a visual, scenic and theatrical show. Colours, costumes and scens. They do a really "folie organisée" (organized madness) whose Stendhal spoke. Humor, just humor you can find in this, I repeat, coloured video. But, there is two exceptions: Nucia Focile and Doris Soffel, they do a great work, better than versions like Valentini- Terrani's.
Rating:
Summary: A good visual material, not a musical one
Review: This is a good video if you are expecting for a visual, scenic and theatrical show. Colours, costumes and scens. They do a really "folie organisée" (organized madness) whose Stendhal spoke. Humor, just humor you can find in this, I repeat, coloured video. But, there is two exceptions: Nucia Focile and Doris Soffel, they do a great work, better than versions like Valentini- Terrani's.
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