Search - Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne: Arias & Duets [HD DVD] on HD DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 1/3/2019...

ALERT - You are ordering an HD-DVD item. This format can be played only in HD-DVD players (the discs will NOT play in regular DVD or Blu-Ray players). If you do NOT have an HD-DVD player, you should not order this item.

"Supreme Artistry"

Stanley H. Nemeth | Garden Grove, CA United States | 08/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This excellent DVD preserves a recent Glyndebourne concert which was nothing short of sensational. Both Cecilia Bartoli and Bryn Terfel are here in their absolute vocal primes, sing material admirably chosen to show their beautiful voices to full advantage, and reveal in their engaging, spirited interplay considerable comic acting skill. The burly, gruff-looking Terfel is the greater surprise in this regard not only because of his unexpectedly witty, highly apt facial expressions but owing to his wonderfully funny, though always consistently graceful, movement on stage. Bartoli is already widely known for her skill in acting opera's comic minxes, and happily she matches Terfel in their duets, also bringing each of her beautifully sung characters to telling dramatic life. Yet Bartoli herself too is ultimately something of a revelation. Though technically a mezzo, her extraordinary skills in negotiating the perilous fioritura demands of 18th and early 19th century roles show us, I suspect, the reason why her illustrious predecessor, Maria Malibran, a mezzo always praised for rousing audiences to the wildest excitement by the brilliance of her ornamentation, was deemed second to nobody when compared with those presumably-to- be-preferred, great high sopranos of the bel canto period."

Magic, just magic

R. Nicholson | 04/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd first seen this performance on CBC TV(Canada) in 2001 and immediately knew I was watching something special.

On this DVD one gets to see and hear not only two great virtuosos in what must be their absolute singing prime, but also two incredible actors who obvious absolutely love what they are doing: And if that wasn't enough you get to listen to a magnificent orchestra who has a conductor (Myung-Whun Chung)with impeccable timing. Also the camera work and film editing is wonderfully done (Brian Large): just the right facial expression, just the right cut to the next camera for the most appropriate view: just the right angle to see the cello player come in on a certain note to accompanying the vocalist.

I would like to add that this has, without a doubt, become my favorite opera DVD: and Donizetti's "Quanto amore" from the Elixer of Love is my favorite piece. Although there are several others that are truly wonderful ("madamina", "La ci darem la mano" and "Pa-pa-pa" just to mention a few)
It is the definitive mix of Singer-Conductor-Orchestra blending together to become an indivisible, single entity.

This performance is magic, just magic! What a thrill it must have been to have witnessed live; Too bad there wasn't more."

All one could wish for...and more!!

J. Barry-Smith | Brisbane, Qld, Australia | 06/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When two of the brightest young opera stars of the era, together with a sympathetic conductor and an orchestra of the front rank, join together for a concert of operatic excerpts one hopes that the event will spark performances that are in some way truly special. Well here is as fine a document of just such an evening as you are likely to find. The sequence from 'Le nozze di Figaro' at the start of the programme shows just how at ease all of the performers are with each other. Bartoli and Terfel 'semi-stage' the scene in and around the orchestra, with conductor Chung even becoming part of the action momentarily. Both singers sets sparks off each other throughout the rest of the programme, the duet from 'Il Barbiere di Sivilgia' being for me the highlight, even though I doubt whether Terfel will ever essay the role of Figaro in Rossini's opera. Each makes one slight misjudgement in chosing repertoire, Bartoli with 'Bel raggio lusinghier' which is not really comfortably within her admittedly wide vocal range, and Terfel with 'Arm, arm ye brave' which just seems to sit strangely with the rest of the programme; yet both pieces receive bravura performances. Glyndebourne's smallish theatre creates a warm glow of intimacy around the proceedings, and as I intimated earlier the London Philharmonic play fabulously well, especially the many and varied wind soloists. Bravi tutti!! I only wish that the programme had been longer, this wonderful DVD certainly left me wanting more."