Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Claudio Abbado
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Actor: Enzo Dara, Hermann Prey, Luigi Alva, Paolo Montarsolo, Teresa BerganzaDirector: Claudio Abbado, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Brand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Italian (Published), DTS 5.1; English (Published); German (Published); French (Published); Spanish (Published); Mandarin Chinese (Published)
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 140 minutes
Published: 2011-10-24
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
DVD Reviews of Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
DVD Review: Pleasing, pleasant, but dull Ponnelle film
Summary: 3 Stars
In today's age, when almost every operatic director has a mind-boggling "concept" for an opera, there's something comforting about popping this Ponnelle film. It's unambitious, inoffensive, aesthetically pleasing, and generally well-sung. Although there are some quirky touches (like Figaro sings "Largo al factotum" with Ponnelle panning to various mannequins and wigs in his shop), mostly this is your good old-fashioned Barber of Seville, with the good old-fashioned stage business and even the good old-fashioned musical cuts. Too bad this good old-fashioned Barber of Seville is also so dreadfully dull.
Despite Ponnelle's attempt to "open up" the opera, the film remains essentially stagey. The sets are both realistic and artificial-looking -- Seville being pretty terra-cotta land that only the characters of the opera seem to inhabit. Even the casting is predictable. Luigi Alva sings essentially the same performance as his studio recordings of the 1950's. He can't really hold a candle to Juan Diego Florez of today and Fritz Wunderlich of yesteryear (in that magical stage telecast of 1959). Ditto Teresa Berganza, whose pretty mezzo voice almost makes up for the fact that she's the most predictable of Rosinas, without a trace of either musical or thespian originality. Her "Una voce poco fa" actually made me yawn. Would it kill her to embellish Rossini's musical line just a little bit? She sings the whole opera almost absolutely "come scritto" which kind of kills half the fun of a Rossini opera -- hearing the unique embellishments of every singer. Would it kill her to seem like she's having a bit of fun? Ponnelle's fondness of closeups only reveal Berganza's advanced age and her facial dullness -- you can practically hear Ponnelle shouting "Smile! Frown! Smile again!" Most of the time she just looks sullen though.
As is often the case with this opera, it's up to the supporting characters to provide the fun. They sort of do, with the emphasis on the sort of. Hermann Prey makes a charmingly conceited Figaro. Enzo Dara, ridiculously coiffed in a long curly brown wig is a hammy, funny Bartolo. There's nothing original about his performance either, but Bartolo's antics are so engraved in stone, that it's fun to see those same old antics performed with relish. Paolo Montosarlo is Basilio, and Ponnelle underlines "La calunnia" with loud bursts of thunder. Bertha constantly sneezes, so much so that you want to shove her some Claritin. Basically they are fun, but this is the same kind of fun you'd see basically at any Barber performance.
I would be more satisfied with this film, if I didn't have another Ponnelle film to compare this with -- his 1981 film of Cenerentola. That film is more stylized, but it has a warmth, charm and beauty that is sorely absent here. I cared about the characters in the Cenerentola film, even the screechy stepsisters, because Ponnelle seemed to care about them. It also is a truly unique experience, employing special effects that turned Rossini's earthy opera into a real fairy tale. I watched that film and thought that it provided something special, something a staged performance could not achieve. However, with this Barbiere film, I think that essentially, I could go to any opera house and have the same experience, except with maybe less detailed costumes, scenery, and less closeups (which usually don't flatter the singers anyway).
If an operatic film doesn't provide any original ideas, then I expect it to preserve a special, memorable operatic portrayal. For instance, I happily sat through a grainy RAI film of Madama Butterfly because of the tenderness and beauty of Anna Moffo's Cio Cio San. I sat through a grainy B&W film of Otello because Mario del Monaco's Otello was a force of nature. But I don't get that feeling here. None of the performances are so note-worthy that they needed to be preserved permanently on celluloid. Certainly not Teresa Berganza, whose Rosina was dull the first time around and only got duller through the years. Or Luigi Alva. Hermann Prey, Enzo Dara, and Paolo Montosarli are the only performers who are trying. But still, they aren't so special that they *need* to be preserved for posterity in a lavish opera-film. Plus, Hermann Prey could be seen in better form in the German-language telecast that's now on dvd.
So my conclusion? Buy the German Barber of Seville with Fritz Wunderlich, Hermann Prey, Hans Hotter, and Erika Koth, if you want a fun, beautiful performance. Buy the recent dvd from Madrid with Juan Diego Florez if you want a more note-complete, vocally dazzling show. This is an inoffensive, fairly pleasant film, but I personally don't think it's anything special.
Description of Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
ROSSINI:II BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA - DVD MovieClassical Music CDs
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