Search - Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century on DVD

A Must-Have for Opera Lovers

Bruce Varner | Chicago area, USA | 07/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an unbelievable collection of performance footage from some of the greatest singers of all time. I am very grateful to NVC Arts/Warner Music Vision for producing and distributing this DVD. Whether you are an opera singer or an opera lover (or both!), you will love this DVD. This DVD has rare footage that you are not likely to see anywhere else. I particularly recommend this DVD to opera students, as there is so much to be learned from watching and listening to these elite singers, not to mention the insightful commentary from Magda Olivero, Thomas Hampson, and others.

There are 28 artists featured here, and the DVD runs for almost 2 hours. Virtually everything in this DVD was enjoyable, so comments on each and every section would make this review very lengthy indeed. Thus, I'll stick to my favorite sections.

I loved the footage of Enrico Caruso from the early 20th century. It is entirely fitting to begin this DVD with opera's first true superstar. I really enjoyed the commentary of Magda Olivero in the features of Beniamino Gigli and Tito Schipa. She is incredibly charming and insightful. Of course, the peformance footage of these two phenomenal tenors is fantastic, with Gigli singing "Ombra mai fu" from Xerxes, and Schipa singing "M'appari" from Martha. There is the ONLY footage of legendary Luisa Tetrazzini. She is at a retirement party (age 61), and singing along to a recording of Caruso singing "M'appari". It is poignant.

There is rare footage of Rosa Ponselle. You get to see her MGM screen tests, singing "Chanson Boheme" and the "Habanera" from Carmen. She pulls off very committed performances, even though she was all alone in front of the camera. She was 21 at the time, beautiful, and in great voice. You get Kirsten Flagstad singing "Hojotoho!" from "Die Walkure" in a live performance from 1938 introduced by Bob Hope, and accompanied by the Met orchestra.

Being a big "La Boheme" fan, I was flabbergasted to see a live peformance of the final scene from Act I, sung by the dream team of Renata Tebaldi and Jussi Bjorling. It was a live broadcast in 1956, and they were both fabulous.

The DVD ends with some legendary Maria Callas performances. You get a clip of the duet "Parigi, o cara" from the famous 1958 Lisbon "La Traviata", sung with Alfredo Kraus. Then, you get the duet and "Vissi d'arte" from the equally famous 1964 Covent Garden performance of "Tosca" with Tito Gobbi. There is intermittent commentary from Nicola Rescigno. Callas was an amazing performer.

In addition to the above, there is some wonderful footage of Martinelli, de Luca, Tauber, Tibbett, Stevens, de Los Angeles, Sutherland, Price, Olivero, Corelli, Vickers, and more. This is a true cornucopia of operatic legends.

Highly recommended."

Amazing

Fritz Lincoln | New York, NY | 10/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Quality rare footage of Great Singers. Excellent commentary by Thomas Hampson and Jerome Hines. Watching the likes of Wunderlich, Bjorling, Callas, Tebaldi, and more...amazing."

A Treat to Watch and Listen To

L. PEDERSON | 03/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are many wonderful gems on this DVD, but the footage of Jussi Bjorling and Renata Tebaldi performing Final Scene, Act 1 of La Boheme is stunning."