Search - A Jose Carreras Collection: Bolshoi Opera Night on DVD

Tacky tacky tacky -- and Carreras isn't even in it!

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/14/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"What a sorry excuse for a DVD! Part of a concert benefiting the relief effort for the Armenian earthquake of 1989 and titled 'José Carreras presents -- A Bolshoi Opera Night', this DVD does not contain one note sung by José Carreras! Nor, as far as I can see, does he even appear in the role of 'host' which he is stated to be on the DVD box. Further, the performances here, recorded live at the Bolshoi Opera of Moscow, are mostly by unknowns or great stars well past their prime. The latter are represented by Irina Arkhipova, a fabulous contralto in her day, but here singing at the age of 64 and with a shadow of her former glory. Equally so is Carlo Bergonzi, at age 65, singing with his well-known classic style but in a voice no longer lustrous or even under complete control. The high notes are painful. Rolando Panerai, the same age as Bergonzi, bawls 'Largo al factotum.' Poor Hermann Prey, 60, can barely get through the Song to the Evening Star from Tannhäuser; the voice is almost gone. Add to that the fairly thin orchestral sound from the Bolshoi Orchestra conducted by Mark Ermler, and really awful performances by the likes of Callas wannabe Lucia Aliberti, and one simply has no reason to buy this disc.

On the plus side are arias by Ljuba Kazarnovskaya ('Ecco l'orrido campo' from Masked Ball and 'Vissi d'arte' from Tosca), by Yevgeniy Nesterenko (Mussorgsky's 'Song of the Flea' and Kontchak's aria from 'Prince Igor') as well as 'Eri tu' and 'Si può' sung by Alan Titus. Alfredo Kraus sings with style, but somewhat diminished tone, in 'La donna è mobile' and 'M'appari.'

PCM Stereo only. No subtitles for the aria texts. TT=188mins. No extras.

Don't waste your money.

Scott Morrison"