Product Description

Stephen Medcalf's superb production opened on the 60th anniversary of the first performance at Glyndebourne, inaugurating the new opera house. "One listened enthralled, as Haitink, Hagley and Finley lifted a loving, carefully prepared performance to greatness." OPERA Mozart's comedy presents a scenario where society overcomes its differences - social, sexual, generational - through the exercise of the humane values of mutual understanding, respect and forgiveness.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21421 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: Italian
• Subtitled in: English, French, Japanese, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 189 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Mozart's immortal adaptation of Beaumarchais's satirical tale has always been a Glyndebourne staple, so it was appropriate that this delightfully traditional production of Le Nozze di Figaro was chosen to reopen their refurbished opera house in May 1994. John Gunter's set design is airy and uncluttered, leaving the actors plenty of breathing space, while director Stephen Medcalf likewise allows the characters to speak (and sing) for themselves. Gerald Finley's Figaro and Alison Hagley's Susanna make a charming central pairing; Renée Fleming and Andreas Schmidt are a formidable aristocratic duo, while Marie-Ange Todorovitch fills Cherubino's trousers with pleasing playfulness. Bernard Haitink and the London Philharmonic sparkle, as of course they should. Unfussily filmed, this is as close to the real thing as you're likely to get without a Glyndebourne season ticket. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Opera Videos I've Seen
My kids (5 yrs and 2 yrs) love this video, and with good reason. We have three versions of Figaro at home, and this is by far our favorite. It's a feast for the eyes as well as the ears: colorful, bright, well-acted, great sets and costumes, extremely well-directed by Stephen Medcalf. It's interpreted in the best comic, fun-loving tradition. The singing is spectacular, especially that of the four principals. Gerald Finley is the best Figaro I've heard on video. He and Alison Hagley (Susanna), have a wonderful rapport onstage .

Some useful info: This is the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, with Bernard Haitink conducting the London Philharmonic. It stars Gerald Finley (Figaro), Alison Hagley (Susanna), Renee Fleming (the Countess), and Andreas Schmidt (the Count). It's a 2-video set (190 minutes), sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Even if you've never seen an opera video, get this one -- you'll love it. It's excellent in all respects.

Good production, mediocre sound mix
This is generally a sparkling, enjoyable production. The principal singers do a wonderful job both musically and dramatically, and it's a treat to see people in these roles who are young enough to "fit" the characters properly. Bernard Haitink and the London Philharmonic are an absolute delight.

However, two caveats. The sets are a slightly uneasy mix of flats in Ellsworth-Kelly-esque primary colors and dabs of period furniture; also, the lights dim for "serious" moments, an annoying, superficial touch. Much more problematic is the DVD sound mix. The orchestra comes off superbly, but voices are sometimes lost and muffled-sounding. I actually checked my center channel to see if it was active! Balance-wise, the stereo version is no better. This is just a word of caution to those who like to hear the SINGERS in an opera.

This DVD is like crack for me
Before my review, I just want to respond to a comment made about Gerald Finley's "too good-looking" Figaro. While Rosina is younger at age 19 or so (I agree that I would rather a young Rosina, but Renee Fleming is quite beautiful and I've seen much worse,) Figaro is 30 years old, which is still quite young. In the source for the opera, the Beaumarchais play Le Mariage de Figaro, there are numerous remarks from the cast about how young and handsome he is. So, really, Gerald Finley is more physically accurate of a Figaro than, say, Bryn Terfel.

Reading a synopsis of Le nozze di Figaro really intrigued me about the opera, so when I went to the library to pick up a DVD of Don Giovanni, which my voice teacher wanted me to listen to as I was going to be studying "Batti, batti," I picked up this DVD as well (as well as recordings of those two operas.) It was only when I was in the car that I saw "Renee Fleming" on the cover and let out a delighted shriek, which rather confused my poor mother.

I still remember that I watched it on a Friday night, and I stayed up until an ungodly hour just to finish it. I also remember that I watched it again on Saturday, and pretty much 20 more times after that throughout the week. I was absolutely hooked. In fact, I ended up getting a fine from the library because it was late. Not because I forgot, but because I didn't want to give it back! I suffered for a week or two and then finally decided, "Screw it, I'm buying it." I did so, and it is sitting on my shelf, right next to West Side Story, with all of my other beloved DVDs and videos.

My one regret is that I watched it before my Don Giovanni DVD: after this fantastic one, Don Giovanni (which was an older production of less quality and a rather lackluster cast) could not even compare!

Since that fateful day I watched this DVD, I have since become a gigantic Figaro nerd. I've read the Beaumarchais trilogy countless times, seen the prequel Il barbiere di Siviglia performed live, collected pictures from it, listened to (and own) various recordings, watched this DVD about a thousand more times, seen clips of other productions of it, etc etc. Heck, just yesterday I listened to the Met Opera Broadcast of it. So I thought I would come back and objectively judge (to the best of my ability, anyway,) the DVD that started it all.

Sets and costumes - I have seen better sets and costumes, but these are fine. I like how Rosina isn't dressed very glamorously: most productions fail to realize that she is supposed to be feeling unwell and thus not exactly sumptuously dressed. Though I will admit that the wig is hideous. Fortunately, it isn't on that long, and it makes Fleming look all the more gorgeous in scenes when she isn't wearing it.

Subtitles - I agree that the subtitles aren't the best, but if you read translations of Le nozze di Figaro librettos, these mistakes are also commonly made (someone pointed out the lack of showing Susanna's Freudian slips in "Crudel! Perche finora"... I only found that included in one booklet of a recording I own) in more than just this DVD.

Sound quality - It's not the best, but it's passable. I'm not a great judge of that, though, anyway.

Miscellaneous remark: Yeah, having Renee Fleming rolling around during "Deh vieni" was a bit odd, but, hey.

Cast (Yay, the fun part):
Gerald Finley - He is one of the Figaros I've seen who physically resembles the picture in my head. His portrayal is rife with comedy, though also has an angry edge to it. I'm not fond of that angry edge often found in Figaros in this opera (I think the character was considering it more of a game than a serious problem, until the whole thing with the pin) but he isn't so angry that it detracts much from his performance, and his interpretation remains one of my favorites that I've seen/heard in Figaros. However, his angry edge is brought up amazingly in Atto Quarto: he is incredibly, incredibly, passionate and full of rage. Of course, this disappears once he finds out that Susanna was just tricking him. One of my favorite moments of his that I've never heard in any other Figaros is at the end when he says "Perdono, perdono!" in a very exaggerated manner, so you know he's just completely faking it and having utmost fun. It's so like Figaro that it just makes me smile. And, as others have said, Finley's chemistry with Hagley is just wonderful.

Alison Hagley - There are not enough superlatives in the English language for me to describe how much I love her. First off, she is young and pretty (which I honestly think is a necessity for the role since several guys in the opera lust after her) and, thanks to her, I shall forever picture Susanna as blonde. She handles the comedic bits with ease yet also maintains dignity and grace, not to mention the emotional sincerity and sweetness of the character. She also maintains what many singers playing Susanna forget to: how shrewd and clever the character is. Yet she also shows Susanna's spitfire side well, particularly in the Atto Terzo Sestetto and also the part of Atto Quarto where she thinks Figaro is going to cheat on her. She has some of the most heartbreaking moments in the opera to me, like when she breaks down into tears after "Deh vieni." And, I'm not sure if this was her move or the director's, but it's hilarious when during "Pace, pace, mio dolce tesoro" she hits Figaro when saying "La voce?" even after she knows he was playing around with her. That's so like Susanna! Another great moment of hers is during "Crudel! Perche finora" when she is truly hilarious as she acts all sexy and seductive. She might be the reason that became my favorite duettino from the opera.

Renee Fleming - She is second thus far only to Veronique Gens for me. She is lovely and constantly has an air of sadness to her, which makes her situation all the more tragic. She and Susanna are really cute in their scenes when they're plotting together, and she also showed well, in an understated way (as Rosina would,) lust for Cherubino. She also has moments of girlishness, in which we see glimpses of the Rosina of 3 years ago. Her shining moments for me are "Dove sono i bei momenti" and the last scene of the opera, in which she forgives the Count.

Andreas Schmidt - Well, he's not my favorite Count (Simon Keenlyside!!!) but he does a good job. He is more sympathetic from most, but not to the point where I would side with him or want him to be able to succeed in his plans.

Cherubino (sorry, don't know the name offhand) - While I think Cherubino was lacking the adolescent energy the character requires, this Cherubino had a gorgeous voice and even had chemistry with Renee Fleming. Also, she really made me crack up during Atto Quarto when Cherubino tries to hit on Susanna in the garden.

Bartolo, Marcellina, and don Basilio - They were all quite good; what I liked was that Marcellina was actually physically believable as Figaro's mother. Someone disliked her during her aria in an above review, but I liked it very much.

Barbarina - Okay, this is my one complaint, which is admittedly rather superficial, but this things tend to bother me: She didn't look at all like a pretty, 12-year-old girl. She looked older than Susanna, for heaven's sake. And I didn't find her very charming, either. But, her voice was beautiful and she conveyed sorrow really well during her cavatina "L'ho perduta... me meschina."

So, there you have it. All in all, a great Figaro to have on DVD. Like I said, I owe it for introducing me to such a great opera. So, if you want to fall in love with this opera like I did, I would recommend starting with this DVD.