Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci: Teatro Alla Scala (Prêtre) [DVD] [2005]

So, first let me comment on Cavalleria Rusticana. This was on location, and the setting was perfect, with the scenery, the inhabitants, the buildings adding such authenticity to the performance. Plácido Domingo and the other lead were both brilliant, but I was not so keen on Yelena Obraztsova, as her voice was a bit " screechy " at times. The music was wonderful, so overall I would give this version four stars.And then onto Il Pagliacci. This time the soprano was brilliant, and both her acting and singing were very effective. Again, Domingo was excellent, and so were all the other main leads. The picture quality was very clear considering its age, but a colourful and enjoyable experience for my first DVD of these two operas. This would be five star, so if I could award 4 and a half stars then it would be more accurate!

I have long wanted this in my collection but mainly for Cavalleria which is shamefully short on good DVD recordings which is surprising for its high popularity. I do feel it has been neglected in recent years. At one time the regular pairing with Pagliaci but these days there seem to be many other bed fellows for that Opera. I loved it but I would love to see a good modern stage production where this was a filmed one. If ever an opera cried out for modern staging it was Cavalleria. the story is so time and space free! Domigo's Pagliaci is marvellous and fimed from a stage production. I have the same staged version from the Met with Pavarotti leading a very similar cast and in the theatre it comes over much more intimately. For me that one has the edge. It has been paired with Puccini's Il Tabaro in a full night showing which also had Domingo leading the tenor part in it. So battle Domingo v Pavarotti ? Pavarotti wins this time.

The filming in Sicily is marvelous but I was somewhat disappointed with the sound quality since I found the high notes suffered distortion. This may be the reason why I could not hear the Soprano clearly above the chorus in the magnificent Easter Hymn. Placido Domingo was a fine Turiddu and Zeffirelli's wonderful filming was a joy to behold.

I've basically no complaints against the music or its performers. These aren't first-rate operas of course, but they're well worth hearing, rare survivors from a period which saw hundreds like them appear and quickly vanish into oblivion. They're performed very well here; Stratas is superb, Domingo is everything we've come to expect, and Obraztsova sings really more passionately than the music deserves. All my frustration is against the director; the first film is alright, but the second is wrecked by permanent extraneous noises layered on top of the music: twittering birds; shuffling feet; or, most unbearably, chattering, giggling, screaming brats throughout some two-thirds of the whole film. The idea was clearly to create atmosphere or whatever; personally I listen to operas because I enjoy music, and I hear recordings expecting to be rid of the coughing and moving which typically mar concerts. It quickly got to the point where I was dreading the slightest diminuendo, knowing that it would be ruined by the noises. I've nothing against opera films in general, but they only work as essentially filmed stage works, entirely focused on the music but taking advantage of more elaborate sets and production values than are possible in a theatre (Götz Friedrich's 'Salome' and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's 'The Barber of Seville' are wonderful examples). This disc is probably worth buying for the first film, but watching the second left me only infuriated.

brilliant

Although both these are films and so suffer the immediacy of the stage they are excellent versions of each opera, with Domingo in fine form in both and backed up by a great cast in both too. Excellent stuff! Of the two, Pagliacci was less filmlike but I can't fault them, and Domingo really brought out the loss of reality in the staging of the play as he was taken over by the plot that caused him to murder his wife.

These two short operas are full of great music, and the brief stories of their characters are expertly told and not at all hard to follow - the moral in each case being that no-one has no true control over love or anguish. The "live" setting, rather than being a theatre stage, is inspired; the casting is perfect not just vocally but visually as well, and all the performers are believable as the people they portray. Yes, the film is old now, but instead of becoming dated it has achieved timelessness. I would recommend this to anybody (except for people recently abandoned by a lover - definitely wait till you're over it before you watch these pieces!)

This Domingo/Zeffirelli Cav/Pag (bought with the Karajan/Vickers equivalent) had none of the slideshow or lip-synching issues of the latter DVD and this Nedda seemed much more attuned to the waif-dragged-off-the-street scenario described by Canio in the final murderous but tragic scene, as opposed to the somewhat haughty and distant Nedda of the Vickers opera. However that doesn't quite make up for the scary Tonio and truly tragic Canio of the earlier performance - buy them both!