Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Performing Arts - Opera
Rating: NR
Release Date: 10-APR-2007
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14934 in DVD
• Brand: DOMINGO,PLACIDO
• Released on: 2007-04-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Classical, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.com
Sparks fly in this video of the all-star concert from Berlin's equivalent of the Hollywood Bowl in July 2006, part of the World Cup festivities. The electricity is generated by the all-star trio of tenors Placido Domingo and Rolando Villazon and soprano Anna Netrebko in a program of operatic and vocal favorites. The crowd estimated at 20,000 eats it all up, and so will home viewers who'll relish the prospect of great singers performing great music.

Domingo is his usual self, still remarkable at an age when most tenors have called it quits. He sings with intensity and a voice undimmed by the passing of time. Domingo's duets with his partners are notable for his acute phrasing, the highlights being the first-act love duet from Verdi's Otello with Netrebko's gorgeous lyric Desdemona and the ravishing duet with Villazon from Bizet's The Pearlfishers, in which he takes on the baritone role. Netrebko seems slightly stiff at first but loosens up as the evening progresses, but she's in excellent voice, with luminous pianissimos most sopranos wish they could emulate. Her Puccini arias are beautifully sung, and she even offers a Franz Lehar aria and a charmingly accented duet, "Tonight," from West Side Story with Villazon. But if anyone can be said to steal the show it's Villazon, a singer in perpetual motion, who brings the house down with a version of Rossini's La Danza full of dash and brio. There's a lot more, from Spanish songs to arrangements of the Brindisi from La traviata and Lehar's featuring all three singers, with the tenors dividing their lines between to woo the soprano. These are part of the scintillating encore set--good fun that has the audience panting for more.

Expert accompaniments are by the Orchestra of the Deutschen Opera of Berlin under the baton of conductor Marco Armiliato, who also offers several well-shaped operatic overtures and intermezzos and joins in the fun during the unbuttoned encores. Too bad the video direction doesn't match the on-stage proceedings. The production team apparently suffers from camera nervosa, the cameras swooping above the scene, then to floor level, now up, now down, now in close-up, now in long shot, searching for novelty while distracting from the music. There are also misjudged cuts, jumps, and angles. This hyperactivity doesn't seriously mar enjoyment but it is a blemish on a terrific concert. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

This DVD is definitely a keeper!
My DVD collection is now quite extensive and I give away some that I won't return to, but this concert is so good that I watched it twice in two days. It has earned a place on my "to keep" shelf. First of all, the filming and the sound are excellent and you almost feel that you are there, in the best seats, of course. Placido Domingo, gray hair and all, still has his powerful voice and real star presence. He sings with two of the greatest current vocal greats, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon, in a beautifully chosen and most enjoyable repertoire. The orchestra is a good match for the three stars in quality. You won't regret acquiring this DVD. It is an outstanding concert and perhaps there won't be that many more with Placido Domingo singing, rather than conducting,as he does more and more often these days. Highly recommended!

Please, share this one with your friends!
Yes, Netrebko, Villazon, and Domingo all sing as perfectly as we could imagine. But the surprise for me was the acting and passion that each brought to this outdoor performance before a gigantic and appreciative audience.

First, it's Netrebko, swaying to the music and almost dancing as she sings the line, "My mother was a dancer" from Franz Lehar's Giuditta.

Later, Villazon captivates the audience with a rousing, delightful, "Italian Wedding-style" La Danza by Rossini. Alongwith the audience, Netrebko is so inspired that she's still dancing, as he leads her out for her La Boheme aria.

As twilight approaches at this outdoor "forest concert" in Berlin, the night is capped off by all three, performing a Lehar song, "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" ("You are my only love"), in which Domingo and Villazon alternate their wooing, each pulling Netrebko towards them. Alternating her own flirtations, she puts the cherry on the sundae with a high note that brings down the house. It just doesn't get any better than this.

I was so enthusiastic about this concert that I invited friends over to see whether I was just bewitched, or if they too, found it enchanting. Indeed, they too found it irresistible. You will love this concert so much that you will barely be able to wait to share it with friends!

Everybody is having a good time. C'mon and join the party!
If you love good operaric singing but you're not in the mood for an entire opera, play this festive and informal DVD from the 2006 outdoors Berlin concert. Everybody-the singers,the conductor, the orchestra, the audience-is happy and having a good time. The informality of the concert does not diminish or affect the quality of singing or the orchestra playing. Domingo's almost exclusive involvement with the dramatic/heroic tenor roles has not affected the legato and timbre of his voice, and its expressiveness and lyricism are so beautiful in "Federico's" aria from L'Arlesiana. Villazon's clarion and top ring are glorious. Netrebko's voice is bigger, darker and sweeter. In the last encore from Lehar's "Merry Widow," Netrebko overpowers both Doomingo and Villazon in the last high note the three are singing together! The video is sharp and first rate. The audio is well-balanced, and thanks to Armiliato's conducting and fine acoustics engineering, it produces a studio quality sound. This DVD deserves, unquestionably, 5 stars for entertainment and artistic value.

Constantine A. Papas
El Paso, Texas