Starring: Massimo Giordano, Felicity Palmer, Alessandro Corbelli, Vladimir Jurowski, Marie McLaughlin Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: BBC / Opus Arte Number of Discs: 1 Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: July 19, 2005 Running Time: 74 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Absolute must-have This is a truly brilliant production of Puccini's comic masterpiece. Although this one-acter, the third in Puccini's "Il Trittico" (trilogy) of one-act operas dealing with the subject of death, is less than an hour long, it packs a more than satisfying punch in the way of great music, well-drawn characters, and entertaining plot.
Annabel Arden has done a marvelous job in drawing out the dark side of humanity in the story, which keeps this production from veering into caricature and slapstick; yet humor is still here in abundance. Vladimir Jurowski leads the London Philharmonic in a brilliant, well-paced reading of Puccini's motif-packed score.
In the title role, Alessandro Corbelli once more shows us why he is considered one of today's most sought-after singing artists. His expressive face, a marvel of muscular mobility, mirrors every fleeting thought and emotion his character is experiencing, and his every gesture is real and telling; yet one never feels that any of this is manipulated or contrived, but is simply a natural outcome of Corbelli's total identification with his character. He uses his considerable abundance of vocal resources intelligently, always in service of the music and dramatic situation, and never for the sake of pure "vocalism". Corbelli is a Schicchi for the ages.
The supporting cast are all top drawer. One could not ask for a better Zita than Felicity Palmer; Sally Matthews and Massimo Giordano (not to be confused with another tenor, Marcello Giordani!) are touching and ardent-voiced as the young lovers.
Included on the disc is an interesting interview with conductor, director, and Corbelli.
This DVD is an excellent introduction for those who are thinking of taking the plunge into the glorious and complex artform that is opera. For those of us already in the deep end, it is an absolute must-have.
Crazy, but it works. I can't think of a worse concept than moving an opera that turns on a point of Medieval law to the early 20th century. Nevertheless, this production is so well sung and acted that the legal absurdity is completely forgotten. Even on the third viewing, this video is a hilarious hour of entertainment.
"A Comic Gem, At Last Coming Into Its Own" "Gianni Schicchi" is an opera perhaps best known for one or two arias taken out of context, but recent productions, like this one here from Glyndebourne or the more recent one at the Met, have made it clear that the opera itself is nothing less than a comic masterpiece. A sort of operatic version of Ben Jonson's gimlet-eyed "Volpone," it presents various forces of greed in conflict with one another in pursuit of a dead man's legacy. Older "blocking" characters, too, have to be outwitted here so young lovers, as classic comedy requires, may finally be united. It's hard to imagine a better ensemble, conductor, or production than the forces at Glyndebourne have brought together. "Gianni Schicchi" deserves to be more frequently staged, joining its older brother, the long neglected Donizetti work "Don Pasquale," in being more widely recognized as the work of musical and comic genius it is.
FEEL LIKE LAUGHING? YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE! Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (pronounced Skee-kee) is not only one of the funniest operas ever composed, it is one of the best COMEDIES ever staged, whether of an operatic nature or otherwise! Although it should be noted that the libretto, by Giovacchino Forzano, is based on an episode in Dante's Inferno, it cannot be denied that Puccini supplies a great deal of the hilarity through his astute orchestration. It is a rare thing to find an opera that is not just "humorous" but hilarious, and even rarer is it for a cast to capture the comic timing to such perfection as is done in this brilliant Glyndebourne production. Add to this the fact that the opera contains some of Puccini's most glorious music (and that the engineers recorded the orchestral and vocal brilliance with amazing clarity) and you have a five-star delight! Even people who don't usually like opera should love this one. By the end you will have a pleased grin on your face--just like the Glyndebourne audience does! (Their enthusiasm is wonderful.)
Gianni Schicchi is short, running only a little over an hour. As a one-acter, it is part of a triptych ("Il Trittico") that also includes Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica. This DVD unfortunately only includes Gianni Schicchi even though it was staged at Glyndebourne along with Rachmaninov's The Misrely Knight, which, although much more sober in tone than Puccini's entry, shares with it the theme of how avarice threatens and sometimes trumps family loyalty. Although my understanding is that they were staged and recorded together at Glyndebourne, Opus Arte is selling Gianni Schicchi and The Miserely Knight seperately. I strongly recommend that anybody considering buying this production of Gianni Schicchi also consider buying--or at least viewing--its companion by Rachmaninov. I do criticize Opus Arte for selling them seperately and thus making it more expensive to acquire them than it would've been had they been provided together. After all, they formed a SINGLE night at the opera for those who attended, so in my opinion they should come in a single package. But putting that fault aside, people wondering about this production, perhaps unsure about buying it, should not hesitate. Great comic timing. Highly, highly recommended. Sheer delight from beginning to end.
Seriously enterteining When a crook succeeds in being liked you know you have a great opera and great singers who know how to act too. You will enjoy it.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
