Vladimir Jurowski, the young conductor, has a marked affinity for Rossini. His performance smiles and makes the London Philharmonic perform with a clarity, precision, and elasticity that unifies the performance and makes it quite thrilling. One is aware of the amount of rehearsal that must have gone into this production as voices and orchestra are so perfectly integrated into a musical whole...... no mere accompaniment here. In many ways it is Jurowsky's show.
Peter Hall sets the action in period and it works very well. As we all know, the magical elements of the Perrault tale have been eschewed, and what results is indeed, like Don Giovanni, a "dramma giocoso," profoundly humane and very funny in a wise, mature way. There is no room here for pratfalls and slapstick that so often marr Rossini performances. The sets are simple and elegant, and the costumes are subservient to the characters..... nothing exaggerated or gauche here.
The cast is uniformly outstanding: virtuosic singers, naturalistic actors, young and handsome. One cannot ask for more. Angelina (La Cenerentola) is the great Rumanian mezzo Ruxandra Donose; Don Ramiro (The Prince) is the remarkable young Russian coloratura tenor, Maxim Mironov.... he's still in his twenties. Luciano di Pascuale as Don Magnifico and Simone Alberghini as Dandini, play off each other superbly with subtle humor. The sisters are neither ugly nor charicatures...... they are spoilt kids caught in a charade they are destined to loose.
The blu ray presentation is superb. Colors are clearly defined, variations in hues are amazing. The sound is spectacular with air and separation between instruments like I have never heard in home video before.
In short, this is a great performance of a musical masterpiece by an excellent cast of a clever, elegant, witty, rich Peter Hall production, musically, brilliantly executed by Vladimir Jurowski whose opera work one would wish would become more common in the USA.
Cenerentola is probably Rossini's most congenial, singualrly humane, opera. Indeed it is a masterpiece, masterfully realized in this performance.
A great addition to my collection - S. Karnes -
My music taste is far and wide from Classic Rock to Lincoln Park to Opera and this one is excellent. I had the CD of The Barber of Seville and I liked it but this opera is solid all the way through. This Blu Ray is excellent quality including crystal clear sound on my Polk 5.1 speakers originating from a PS3 with HDMI plumbing.
Disappointed - Frank A. Rodgers - Saint John,NB Canada
Viedo excellent but audio reminds of early cold digital sound. I'm use to lp sound and my other blu ray operas are more than satisfactory.
Mixed blessings of blu ray. - Thomas E. Ascher - Bellingham, WA
This production reveals why the close ups of video and the increased detail of blu ray can be, in some cases, a mixed blessing.
First, the good. This is a superb performance on many levels. The conducting, singing, choreography and staging are at the very highest level. And, the picture and sound are superb. I would think that seeing this live from anywhere other than the first row, would be a rare and wonderful experience.
Second, the not so good. As wonderful an actress and singer as Ruxandra Donose is, up close, she appears to be the mother of the two sisters, rather than a younger sibling. The other distraction, for me, was the costuming of Don Magnifico, the step-father. At a distance, I'm sure the extreme filth and raggedness of his costume, wig and make-up adds to the baffoonish quality of his character. Up close, seeing the wig and makeup peeling from his face and neck is not so appealing. Minor quibbles but enough so that when I see this again on my home video, I will sit farther back from the screen!
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