Whistle Stopper - Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore

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Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Starring: Luciano Pavarotti, Kathleen Battle, Juan Pons, Enzo Dara, James Levine
Directed By: John Copley

Average Customer Rating:

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0044007340219
Format: Digital Sound
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Region Code: 0
Release Date: 2005-05-10
Running Time: 128
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: L'Elisir d'Amore
Comment: Biscuits O'bryan: Texas Storyteller (Texas Heritage)
This opera, like most,has a silly love story, but the music is spectacular, especially Pavarotti's aria, "Una Furtiva Lagrima." That song alone makes this a worthwhile purchase.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Pavarotti - Donizetti L'Elisir D'Amore DVD
Comment: This was a wonderful L'Elisir DVD purchase. I have a CD recording of L'Elisir with Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland from 1971 which I absolutely love more than the DVD. Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed the performance. I thought Luciano Pavarotti did an outstanding job as Nemorino. I have always felt this role was one of those that Pavarotti owned, especially in the 70's & 80's. I have not preferred anyone else as Nemorino. Regarding the rest of the cast, Juan Pons is also one of my favourite Belcore. His performance is consistently excellent. I cannot ask for anyone else better in the pit other than James Levine. I gave this a 4 star instead of 5 because of Kathleen Battle. I credit her with having a lovely voice and she sang beautifully. However, I have a few minor gripes. 1)I felt her voice was not powerful enough for Adina. There were certain parts my husband and I had a difficult time hearing her. I much prefer Dame Joan Sutherland for Adina. 2)My other gripe about Battle is her somewhat poor Italian pronunciation. It was very obvious throughtout especially when she pronounced any word w/ a "t". Granted Dame Joan was not perfect with the Italian language but nontheless, better. 3) When Battle sang, I found her mouth somewhat distracting. At times, we had to look away. She often does this mouth curling inward thing which makes her mouth look like an "O" on certain note. If you purchase the DVD, you'll know what I mean. Overall, I would definitely recommend this to beginners and seasoned opera fans alike.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Outstanding
Comment: This is a wonderful performance. I never get tired of watching this one. Pavarotti is great. His alleged lack of acting ability is just that, ALLEGED. He was a wonderful actor. Study the facial expressions and his ability to get emotions across through his singing. None better. Buy this performance, you won't regret it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Elixir of Love
Comment: Although I've just bought the DVD, I've been watching the tape of this performance for years. Brilliant! Bravo and brava!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Un-Impressive
Comment: I purchased this DVD after watching an opera on PBS TV. But then I found out it was not the same opera performance. This opera performance is not so good.

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Editorial Reviews:

It would be hard to imagine a better performance of Donizetti's comic masterpiece. If there was one role that ideally suited Luciano Pavarotti's voice and stage personality, it was Nemorino, the impoverished and not-very-bright peasant who worships the village's prettiest and richest young woman from a distance, is swindled by a traveling vendor of "miracle" medicines, but wins her hand by dumb luck. The story has comedy, pathos, and a put-down of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (or at least the Tristan story) written long before Wagner composed it.

Kathleen Battle is not only a wonderful singer and convincing actress; as Adina, she is pretty enough to make Nemorino's infatuation totally credible. Juan Pons struts convincingly as Belcore, Nemorino's self-important rival, and Enzo Dara is properly spectacular as Dr. Dulcamara, who sells Nemorino the magic potion guaranteed to improve his love life, or at least to get him drunk. The melodies in this opera include some of the best ever written, and James Levine, his extraordinary orchestra, and his wonderful chorus know exactly what to do with them. Everything comes together in this production to make it one of the best opera DVDs available. --Joe McLellan