Off The Bookshelf Chabrier - L'Etoile / Gardiner, Alliot-Lugaz, Gautier, Opera National de Lyon Search DVD

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1.Gounod - Romeo et Juliette / Mackerras, Alagna, Vaduva, Royal Opera Covent Garden starring: Roberto Alagna, Leontina Vaduva, Anna Maria Panzarella, Robert Lloyd, François Le Roux directed by: Brian Large November 20, 2001
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $29.99 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $26.99 You Save: $3.00 (10%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $17.80
Romeo et Juliette has always been one of my favorite operas. The leads are both perfect in their interpretation of youthful love. Roberto Alagna is in superb form and a terrific Romeo. It is a joy to behold his perfect French diction. His voice is sweet, lyrical and clear cut like most French tenors. Vaduva is an excellent Juliette. She can act, is young and beautiful, and has a wonderful coloratura. Her opening aria "Je veux Vivre..." is simply incredible! I thought her voice was perfect and her diction was right on too. They seemed to have strong chemistry. The only drawback for me was the set seemed rather sparse. The color appears drabby on dvd, but may have had to do with the production's lighting. Anyways, I give it 5 stars for Alagna and Vaduva's believable performances.

2.Bizet - Carmen / Maazel, Migenes, Domingo starring: Julia Migenes, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham, François Le Roux directed by: Francesco Rosi December 28, 1999
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $174.95
This is an absolutely must have for any lovers of the opera Carmen. I originally purchased it as a VHS recording and have tried for years to locate it on DVD. The DVD version is rare indeed and the high cost (I paid $134.77) is worth every penny. The sound is highly superior to the VHS version though mine may have been played so long it sound has been affected. It was purchased from a video store. This presentation of the opera is shown as a movie. It contains close-ups not possible in a stage presentation and it shows villages, buildings, huge crowds, dust, actual bull fighting and many scenes totally impossible with a stage production. Also, the opera is intact. Nothing has been changed. Domingo and Migenes are excellent as are all the cast. A finer version of the opera is simply not possible.

3.Offenbach - La Belle Helene / Minkowski, Lott, Beuron, Senechal, Naouri, Le Roux, Torodovitch, Chatelet Opera starring: Felicity Lott, Yann Beuron, Michel Sénéchal, François Le Roux, Laurent Naouri June 29, 2004
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $29.99 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $26.99 You Save: $3.00 (10%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $17.64
Some reviewers are fixated on the fact that Dame Feliciy Lott is too old and not beautiful enough to be Helen. But how many Brunnhildes could mount a horse without breaking its back? She makes good choices about how to present the role. What got lost here is how well everyone else fits their part. Especially, Marie-Ange Torodovitch is magnificent as Orestes. If you are going to quibble about beauty, Yann Beuron isn't handsome enough to be Paris, but he does a remarkably good job of being the sort of confident young punk that Paris should be, and his voice is great for his part. Michel Senechal is perfect for Menelaus as depicted here. Francois le Roux (Calchas) and Laurent Naouri (Agamemnon) are also good. The staging is good, and the various time-warps involved fit with Offenbach's original ... Read More

4.Prokofiev - L'Amour des Trois Oranges (The Love for Three Oranges) starring: Sandrine Piau, Alain Vernhes, Martial Defontaine, Francois Le Roux, Anna Shafajinskaia directed by: Laurent Pelly September 26, 2006
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $39.99 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $35.99 You Save: $4.00 (10%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $27.12
I enjoyed very much this version of Prokofiev's "L'Amour des Trois Oranges". In general is a very fresh and imaginative put in scene of a work that was written in the times of the "Commedia del Arte" by Carlo Gozzi. The presentation of the classical personages of the "Commedia del Arte" such as the "polichinella", "prince", "dottore" among others, with a funny new approach of garderobe is a smart feature. Some of the dynamics on the stage are inspired in the classical greek theater (a very participative Chorus), with many other modern and ingenious resources. Everything fits with great accuracy within the music opera of Prokofiev like an amazing and clever clockwork. Jorge Fernandez

5.Carmen [Region 2] starring: Julia Migenes, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham, François Le Roux directed by: Francesco Rosi
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $35.99
This is an absolutely must have for any lovers of the opera Carmen. I originally purchased it as a VHS recording and have tried for years to locate it on DVD. The DVD version is rare indeed and the high cost (I paid $134.77) is worth every penny. The sound is highly superior to the VHS version though mine may have been played so long it sound has been affected. It was purchased from a video store. This presentation of the opera is shown as a movie. It contains close-ups not possible in a stage presentation and it shows villages, buildings, huge crowds, dust, actual bull fighting and many scenes totally impossible with a stage production. Also, the opera is intact. Nothing has been changed. Domingo and Migenes are excellent as are all the cast. A finer version of the opera is simply not possible.

6.Offenbach - La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein / Lott, Piau, Beuron, Le Roux, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski (Theatre du Chatelet) starring: Felicity Lott, Sandrine Piau, Yann Beuron, François Le Roux, Marc Minkowski directed by: Laurent Pelly, François Roussillon January 24, 2006
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $37.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $33.99 You Save: $3.99 (11%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $27.80
I think the great success of this production is owed to the stage direction of Laurent Pelly and the choreography of Laura Scozzi as much as the great performances of the principal players. I could imagine how tedious this light-hearted, three act farce could have been in the wrong hands. But, it was in the best hands! The slapstick story moves right along with scene after scene of hilarious dance numbers and absurd costumes and scenery. Felicity Lott was supremely funny in the title role and gave a great singing and dancing performance. Equally demanding were the roles of Sandrine Piau as Wanda and Yann Beuron as Fritz, which both acquitted superbly. Le Baron Puck of Franck Leguerinel, Le Prince Paul of Eric Huchet and Le General Boum of Francois La Roux were athletically as well as vocally great. Read More

7.Debussy - Pelleas et Melisande / Gardiner, Alliot-Lugaz, Le Roux, Opera National de Lyon starring: Colette Alliot-Lugaz, François Le Roux, José van Dam, Roger Soyer, Jocelyne Taillon directed by: Jean-François Jung May 14, 2002
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $79.00
For those who found this production too static, please watch the DVD of Handel's Tamerlano directed for the Halle Festival by Jonathan Miller. In an interview that's part of the bonus material, Miller explains his philosophy of directing operas. Basically, sometimes there is no need to have people moving about the stage. The Pelleas et Melisande with Gardiner and all is so gripping that there is no need for running about the stage. This is one of the very few times I have approved of tampering with a composer's stage directions -- and this is the first time I really enjoyed a production of P&M.

8.Carmen [Region 2] starring: Julia Migenes, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham, François Le Roux directed by: Francesco Rosi
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $35.99
This is an absolutely must have for any lovers of the opera Carmen. I originally purchased it as a VHS recording and have tried for years to locate it on DVD. The DVD version is rare indeed and the high cost (I paid $134.77) is worth every penny. The sound is highly superior to the VHS version though mine may have been played so long it sound has been affected. It was purchased from a video store. This presentation of the opera is shown as a movie. It contains close-ups not possible in a stage presentation and it shows villages, buildings, huge crowds, dust, actual bull fighting and many scenes totally impossible with a stage production. Also, the opera is intact. Nothing has been changed. Domingo and Migenes are excellent as are all the cast. A finer version of the opera is simply not possible.

9.Pelléas et Mélisande [Region 2] starring: Colette Alliot-Lugaz, François Le Roux, José van Dam, Roger Soyer, Jocelyne Taillon directed by: Jean-François Jung
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $43.99
For those who found this production too static, please watch the DVD of Handel's Tamerlano directed for the Halle Festival by Jonathan Miller. In an interview that's part of the bonus material, Miller explains his philosophy of directing operas. Basically, sometimes there is no need to have people moving about the stage. The Pelleas et Melisande with Gardiner and all is so gripping that there is no need for running about the stage. This is one of the very few times I have approved of tampering with a composer's stage directions -- and this is the first time I really enjoyed a production of P&M.

10.Chabrier - L'Etoile / Gardiner, Alliot-Lugaz, Gautier, Opera National de Lyon starring: Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Georges Gautier, Jules Bastin, Ghyslaine Raphanel, François Le Roux directed by: Bernard Maigrot June 11, 2002
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $134.95
The voices are not recorded live which is very disturbing since the action moves so quickly--no sense of immediate, live performance--but calculated and arranged angles that could not have been done during performance and lip-syncing is not accurate or convincing. The CD version is wonderful and the music survives here but the fact that the singers on the screen are not actually singing what you are hearing destroys the magic of this wonderfully silly opera.

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