eShop USA > VHS > Mozart - Mitridate, re di Ponto / Daniels, Ford, Kowalski, Royal Opera
Mozart - Mitridate, re di Ponto / Daniels, Ford, Kowalski, Royal Opera
List Price: $29.95Price: $14.99 You Save: $14.96 (50%)Prices subject to change.
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304364338
Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6304364334
Label: Kultur Video
Languages: English (Subtitled), Italian (Original Language), Analog
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Kultur Video
Release Date: February 27, 1997
Running Time: 177 minutes
Studio: Kultur Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1993
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Editorial Review:
This opera seria was written when Mozart was 14 years old. The style was already old-fashioned (it had been used for more than a century), but Mozart's music, though not comparable to his mature operas, has a freshness, vitality, and spontaneity that transcend the rigid, traditional forms and conventions. The Covent Garden cast sings beautifully, give or take a few pinched high notes (not unusual in a live performance), and the primary question posed by this production is whether or not you can accept the minimal sets and lavishly exotic (vaguely oriental) makeup and costumes. The plot is absurd, but we take that for granted.
Historically, Mithridates was the ruler of a kingdom in the Middle East that was a serious military threat to Rome in the first century B.C.--a fact that has little to do with the plot (two sons struggling for the love of their father's fiancée). Lovely music triumphs over twisted plot and weird visuals. --Joe McLellan
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A WORK BY A YOUNG GENIUS
Amadeus means "loved by God." Only a genius loved by God could write and orchestrate like this and only be 14 years old. Sure it's the old opera seria style yet Mozart even at 14 expands the boundaries of this convention. I love this opera with this cast. Ford, Murray, Orgonasova and all sing wonderfully. The sets are fair the costumes are ridiculous but, who cares with singing and conducting like this. I'd rather have this then some recent euro trash I've just seen live! Don't miss any of a ... Read More
Rating: - Soulful Mozart
I have a version of this opera on VHS with Gosta Winbergh that blew me away when I saw it. I have been waiting hopefully for its appearance on DVD...but, I gave in and bought this one while I'm waiting. Absolutely excellent. Young Mozart was a soulful 14-year old to be sure. Much of his early-mid music strikes me as a mathematical exercise, with just about that much resonance...but this music is full of honest emotion without excess. Shades of the mature Mozart with no need to give ground for ... Read More
Rating:  - Good performance, but ridiculous costumes
The singers are great, especially Bruce Ford and Ann Murray. Unfortunaly, the director has made bad choices regarding the sets ... and the costumes. They are so exaggerately wide that the characters seem to be sitting on the border of their bed! And what about the make-up? All characters have white faces. You could believe they are dead. All this deconcentrates the viewer. I was so frustrated that I stopped looking at it and did something else while listening. I would recommend to buy the CD ... Read More
Rating:  - How about Those Costumes
First, the music was written by the 14 year old Mozart and it is pretty good with some neat twists but nothing like what you expect in the more mature works. Vocally, particularly, the arias are very like instrumental concertos with space for a short unaccompanied cadenza. This means they are very difficult. This cast, particularly Aspasia(Organasova), Ismene (Lillian Watson), and Farnace (Jochen Kowalski) execute these with a lot of finesse. Sifare (Anne Murray) and Mitridate (Bruce Ford) are not ... Read More
Rating: - Sticky Toffee Pudding
Being a lover of pre-Romantic Opera & all things Baroque, this release of "Mitridate" is manna in the desert for me. The sheer commitment of all involved in this production is enough to convince anyone of Mozart's (and pre-Romantic opera's) possibilities to create a dramatic (& entertaining) work of art.
Expect regal singing from all involved, especially Bruce Ford. He makes Mitridate's music sound as easy as breathing - this stratospheric part (top C following top C) is really ... Read More
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