Search - Breton - La Dolores / Elisabete Matos, Alfredo Portilla, Cecilia Díaz, Javier Alonso, Angel Odena, Antoni Ros Marba, Teatro Real, Madrid on DVD

LA DOLORES IS NOT A ZARZUELA

FEDERICO BADA | BARCELONA, Spain | 08/24/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"LA DOLORES IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TITLES OF THE SPANISH OPERATIC REPERTOIRE. IT IS BASED ON A REAL EVENT THAT TOOK PLACE IN 1835 IN CALATAYUD (ARAGON-SPAIN). BUT IT IS NOT A ZARZUELA (WHICH I PARTICULARLY LIKE AS MUCH AS OPERA) BUT AN OPERA RUNNING LONGER THAN 150 MINUTES. THE ZARZUELAS ARE MUSICAL PLAYS CLOSER TO OPERA THAN TO OPERETTA WITH SPOKEN DIALOGUE BETWEEN MUSICAL NUMBERS(BY HALVES),LA DOLORES HAS NOT SPOKEN DIALOGUE AT ALL AND HAS BEEN PERFORMED EVERYWHERE. IN THIS PERFORMANCE,WHICH WAS TREMENDOUSLY SUCCESSFUL IN THE TEATRO REAL OF MADRID TWO YEARS AGO, THE ONLY BAD THING IS THE POOR PERFORMANCE OF TENOR ALFREDO PORTILLA, PERHAPS IN A BAD VOCAL MOMENT. THE REST OF THE CAST, BEGGINNING WITH THE PORTUGUESE/SPANISH SOPRANO ELISABETE MATOS IS VERY GOOD AND THE FAMOUS "JOTA" THRILLINGLY DANCED BY THE BALLET. THE SCORE, INFLUENCED BY WAGNER AND VERISMO, HAS VERY GOOD ARIAS AND ENSEMBLES BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT IN THE OPERA IS THE FABULOUS DUET OF MATOS AND PORTILLA SPOILED BY THE LATTER IN SPITE OF THE TREMENDOUS EFFORTS OF THE SOPRANO. ONE NEGATIVE SIDE OF THIS TAPING IS THE LIGHTNING THAT WAS VERY CLIMATIC FOR THE STAGE BUT DARK FOR THE RECORDING. I CAN IMAGINE HOW AMAZING RECORDING COULD IT BE WITH ROLANDO VILLAZON, JOSE BROS AND MARCELO ALVAREZ, NOT TO MENTION PLACIDO DOMINGO(WHO RECORDED IT WITH MATOS SOME YEARS AGO)."

Disappointing Zarzuela

Gustavo Demarco | Buenos Aires | 07/27/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Zarzuela, as well as several types of European "operetta", has been trying to find its place in leading opera houses and get rid of the stigma of "light" music of local interest. Reputed musicians like Placido Domingo (the son of a couple of zarzuela singers himself) has contributed a lot to these efforts. A few titles are performed at present in several opera houses of Spain and abroad. Being myself an opera fan but not a zarzuela lover, I bought this DVD with great expectation. I thought this series of productions from Teatro Real Madrid was a serious effort to reach wider audiences with productions that include reputed opera singers in the cast. To my disappointment, the quality of the video is awful. Although sound is not that bad, image is extremely poor, well below current standards, especially considering that this is a recent production. In addition, subtitles in English and Spanish are announced in the cover but they are not provided, and there is no booklet included. To sum up, even (should I say, "especially"?)zarzuela fans will feel disappointed with this DVD. For the rest of the audiences, my advise if to keep aside and wait for a better occasion to approach zarzuela."