Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131130 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 136 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great performance. Putrid editing!!!
I cannot add much to what has been said by other reviewers. It is somewhat different from the Italian version, but that should not be a detraction. As a stand alone piece it works extremely well. The acting/singing is excellent as is the musical direction and playing.

However, remember the name, Don Kent -- and avoid him if you can. His idea of video direction and editing seems to be having as many closeups as possible. If he could, he possibly would have tried to get a shot of the larynxes in action. As a result, much of the drama was lost and one was left with the sensation of watching a recital through binoculars. During duets and ensembles, he cut mostly from one face to another. An opera production should be an interaction; and not being able to see the other characters during all these closeups detracts. The worst excess of this type of editing was during "the mad scene". We see little of the reaction of the others on the stage. But far worse: this was Ms Ciofi's major tour de force in this production and she was wonderful. However, the editing did not allow us to see her perform -- there were frequent cuts back and forth with no apparent rhythm, to her face alone, her face and neck, her face and upper part of her body, etc. etc. Whenever the camera pulled all the way back, we could see what a consummate actor Ms. Ciofi was, and how she was using her whole body in her performance -- and that whole body was, and should have been shown to be, part of an interacting ensemble.

Putrid is the word for the editing.

I will still give 5 stars because of all the factors mentioned by so many people; and because this is not a version that one is likely to get anywhere else.

Magnificent production of the French "Lucia"
In 1839 Donizetti reproduced his great success "Lucia di Lammermoor" for Paris. The opera was renamed "Lucie di Lammermoor." Besides translating the libretto to French, Donizetti inserted a new cavatina for Lucia. "Regnava nel silencio" was replaced with "Que n'avons nous des ailes." The original melody for the "new" cavatina was from a forgotten Donizetti opera "Rosmonda di Inghilterra." Donizetti also reworked the story slightly. Instead of a lady-in-waiting for Lucia Donizetti created the character of Gilbert, a Machiavellian spy type. Thus the first scena with Lucie takes on a more sinister foreboding tone.
The dvd is a performance from 2002 in Lyon. The recording's Lucie had Natalie Dessay, who was slated to be the revival's Lucie. Dessay completed the recording but developed nodes and had to cancel the run, so Patrizia Ciofi is the Lucie in the dvd performance. Alagna is the Edgard in both the recording and the dvd.
This dvd is one of those performances I would not want to be without, ever. The production manages to be both traditional and imaginative at the same time. The stark sets suggest a bleak medieval Scottish landscape. There is no prettified glamor here -- it's a violent, gory story and the production treats it as such.
Patrizia Ciofi may not be the GREATEST Lucia/Lucie on record, but from her first cavatina she's a disturbed, distraught woman. She is a tiny, thin woman, and suggests Lucie's delicacy. Her voice is smallish and crystalline, but never chirpy or monotonous. In the mad scene she takes the original keys (usually the scene is transposed to E so the soprano can end on a big E-flat). If I wanted to nitpick I would say that under pressure her voice can turn a bit glassy, and that she makes some funny facial expressions when she sings that the closeups don't flatter. But overall her Lucie is passionate, disturbed and pathetic.
Roberto Alagna is a controversial tenor. I happen to be a fan, because despite his obvious faults (questionable intonation, a tendency to sing forte rather than modulate his voice, incomplete training as he was largely self-taught), he sings with an innate passion and warmth that I find irreplaceable. His best moment is the final scene in the tomb, where he IMO steals the entire evening. His facility in the French language is also a big plus.
The role of Henry Ashton is fleshed out more in this production. Here he is not a stock villain, but also mentally disturbed and paranoid. Ludovic Tezier adds an almost demonic intensity to his scenes. His interaction with Lucie (leaning into her menacingly, then softly caressing her hair) implies a brother-sister relationship that is very troubled and abnormal.
The lighting could have been better -- the stage was naturally very dark, and at times the singers were totally covered in darkness. But these are minor complaints. I heartily recommend this performance.

A must have, a great musical experience
This DVD presents the 1839 french version of this well known opera. I like this version in particular because is pretty complete; Compared with the Met version, where the duetto between Edgard and Enrico was skipped, this one has it and most of the scenes are not reduced at all. Is a complete score. Contains a new scene for Lucie in the first act: "Que n'avons nous des ailes", instead of "Regnava del Silenzio"; Normanno dissapears and is replaced by Gilbert, this "Jago" who is more complex and takes more importance in this version, in my opinion.

I have to say, this is a great version in many ways: First, conductor Evelino Pido's interpretation is not just correct, is dynamic and intense as well, getting a good balance in the orchestra. The speed and the brightness is good too.
Patricia Ciofi surprises with her hability and intensity singing the rare aria, and considering that she's singing live on-stage, she does it much better than Natalie Dessay in the CD version of the opera. Ciofi sings with energy and without losing control and dramatism (I have to say, she looks kinda freaky in some way, but it gives us some impression about how this Lucie could be). From there, you will enjoy her performance until the end. Ludovic Tezier deserves and ovation too. He's a good singer and actor (it looks like he could be over-acting in some way, but i think that it was the intention of the character in this production), and is great in the duet with Lucie in the second act. Roberto Alagna is convincing as always, because his shiny voice reflects a good idea about the character of Edgard must be. Very notable performance, Great duet with Ciofi at the end of the first act, and singing his famous aria at the end of the opera.
Marc Laho is good and precise in his short part. I liked his voice and colour when i saw him singing Don Pasquale's Ernesto this year at the Real in Madrid. Good singer.

The Production looks odd at the beginning, but i think is the intention of the directors to give a dark impression about the place and the characters. In some way, giving them some surrealistic form in a obscure and macabre context.

I really recommend this if you like complete version of operas, by now, this is my referencial version of Lucia, the french one. by other hand, this is the most recent version of the opera you will find, the other ones are from the 80's.