eShop USA > VHS > Rossini - Semiramide / Conlon, Anderson, Horne, Metropolitan Opera
Rossini - Semiramide / Conlon, Anderson, Horne, Metropolitan Opera
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303522548
Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6303522548
Label: Kultur Video
Languages: Italian (Original Language), Analog
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Kultur Video
Release Date: June 27, 1995
Running Time: 220 minutes
Studio: Kultur Video
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Editorial Review:
Bel canto can be translated as "pretty singing," and that definition seems tailor-made for this production, which offers grace, charm, and a fine-tuned sense of style in abundance to compensate for its limited psychological and emotional impact. The four principal singers are all specialists in the bel canto style, and this opera has played a key role in building their substantial reputations. Their singing is more spectacular than their acting, but that is what bel canto is all about. Those who want gut-wrenching situations and passionate emoting should try the verismo style. Meanwhile, for its sweeping musical imagination and technical wizardry, Rossini's epic about royal assassination and misdirected lust in the ancient Babylonian empire deserves a place in any inclusive opera collection, and we are not likely to have a better video Semiramide recording in the foreseeable future.
June Anderson has an attractive appearance and sounds exactly right in the music's florid melodic lines. But she is not dramatically compelling as the wicked queen who had her husband killed and fell in love with a man who turned out to be her long-lost son, Arsace. Marilyn Horne rose to the highest levels of international fame in the role of that conflicted son, and her presence alone would be enough to give this video classic status. Her voice was a bit past its prime when this performance was recorded in 1991, but still there is no other voice quite like it, no other voice so suited to Rossini's heroic mezzo roles. Samuel Ramey is a close bass counterpart to Anderson: great tone, agile florid singing, and a rather wooden but visually appealing stage presence. Sanford Olsen has a small role and sings it almost perfectly. James Conlon gets excellent musical results; John Copley's staging is massive and static. --Joe McLellan
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Stunning
This has become my favorite opera, mainly because of this performance. Every character is superbly played. The music is a beautiful as can be imagined. Sanford Olson has one of the greatest tenor voices I have ever heard and his role is magnificent.
Rating:  - Eccomi Alfine ... At The Met
Most listeners would agree, I think, that "Semiramide" is an opera whose success in performance rests almost exclusively on the singers of its two leading roles. So difficult are these roles that the opera is almost never done. In the 60's, though, first in Los Angeles in a concert version, and then in the 70's at the Chicago Lyric in a fully staged production, the opera was unforgettably brought back into the repertoire by the spectacular Joan Sutherland and the incomparable Marilyn Horne. With ... Read More
Rating: - Around 3 1/2 hours long
Whew! I watched it standing up, sitting down, piecemeal, while making decaf and just glancing at the subtitles (which were sparse anyway). This thing was interminable! But it was also absolutely beautiful. I've never heard anything like it. I've got Sutherland on CD, so already knew I liked it. But this was beyond all expectations. When the 3 principles got together for trios (or duets or solos), they blew me away. I liked the plot which even the idiotic Amazon staff reviewer was glad to ... Read More
Rating:  - Musically and visually gorgeous, but a dramatic flop
The sets and backdrops are up to Met standards, i.e., gorgeous and sumptuous. I have no reason to complain about the music and singing. Horne's deep voice is stunning in its power--more on the other aspects later. I haven't heard Anderson before, but her singing here gives me no reason to doubt promo claims that she IS Semiramide.
Alas, as drama this performance left me unmoved. Two huge problems: there is no way costumes and headdresses can tart up Horne to be a young pubescent warrior about ... Read More
Rating: - Semiramide is the best Rossini opera!!
This DVD of Semiramide is fantastic!! The singing and the music were very beautiful. June Anderson is a great Semiramide, and Marilyn Horne with a beautiful mezzo-voice was amazing as Arsace.
The rest of the cast was incredible!! You should get this DVD because the music of Rossini was beautiful. It's the best!!
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