La bohème
Giacomo Puccini
Keywords
Reviews (10)
Presto classical
2018
By
2018
"With his affinity for the 16th-century sculptor Benvenuto Cellini's advocacy of artistic and personal freedom, Hector Berlioz went straight for the grand gesture with his first completed opera ... The plot revolves around Cellini's wooing of Teresa, a match frustrated at every opportunity by his rival, the cowardly Fieramosca. Benvenuto Cellini is a pithy work combining romance, excitement, violence, comedy and spectacle; the perfect stage for Terry Gilliam's stylishly colorful and larger than life directing".
MusicWeb international
2018 August
By
By
Stephen Barber (musikanmelder)
2018 August
"Berlioz's first completed opera has always been a problem child ... Exuberance, indeed, is the main characteristic of this production ... The director, Terry Gilliam, occasionally gets the action wrong ... But as you might expect from an ex-Python, his production of the Carnival scene is vibrant, energetic and eccentric ... Mark Elder ... secures the right Berlioz sound from the orchestra, a glitter and sparkle which carries the work through all the sometimes-creaking dramaturgy. His cast is excellent. John Osborn as Cellini is a lovely Berlioz tenor ... The chorus of Dutch National Opera are convincing ... Although I have some reservations, in general I can commend this recording. Everyone who loves Berlioz should get to know this work".
MusicWeb international
2020 October
By
By
Paul Corfield Godfrey
2020 October
"The playing of the orchestra under Gardiner, as one might expect, is close to ideal ... The Monteverdi Choir too are solidly romantic in tone, augmented to nearly sixty voices - which may belie their retention of their baroque name but nevertheless yields remarkably athletic results in the complex cross-rhythms of the Roman Carnival scene. The soloists in this performance are rather more of a mixed bag, given roles that admittedly would challenge nearly all singers ... those wishing to experience a staged production of Benvenuto Cellini in their living rooms will find that this handsomely presented DVD answers their needs admirably. The booklet contains essays and plot synopses in English, French and German, and subtitles are provided in all three languages".
Klassisk
2018, nr. 51
By
By
Mikael Garnæs
2018, nr. 51
"Terry Gilliam, engang medlem af de legendarisk Monty Pythons, går til opgaven med formidabel energi, og det viser sig, at hans humoristiske og anarkistiske stil passer perfekt til stykket. Løjerne går i gang allerede under ouverturen, hvor skuespillere og akrobater tager scenen i besiddelse ... Musikken stiller store krav til koret og de mange solister i massescenerne men især til titelrollen ... John Osborn klarer det imponerende godt, ligesom den sødmefulde sopran Mariangela Sicilia i rollen som Theresa ... En række gode biroller supplerer glimrende. Og dirigenten Mark Elder gør ligeledes en flot indsats for at holde musikkens momentum i gang".
Diapason
2020 octobre
By
By
Emmanuel Dupuy
2020 octobre
BBC music magazine
2020 October
By
By
Michael Tanner (musikanmelder)
2020 October
"Berlioz's first opera isn't very often performed, and it's not difficult to see why. It is pretty long, there are few memorable melodies in it ... This production is of a semi-demi-staging from Versailles ... Gardiner is a passionate Berliozian, and brings to the playing both excitement and precision. The singers ... are mainly up to Berlioz's strenuous demands, with Michael Spyres superb in the title role, and Sophia Burgos excellent as his beloved Teresa ... [And] there is enough fine music in it for an occasional viewing and listening".
BBC music magazine
2010 January
By
By
Mark Pappenheim
2010 January
"This is the first commercially available DVD of Berlioz's mercurial debut opera .. retro "futuristic" production ... Musically, though, there are some rewards".
Vurdering (performance): 3/5.
Vurdering (picture & sound): 3/5.
International record review
2010 January
By
By
John T. Hughes
2010 January
"The sound and picture are clear, so if you want a very good performance in an offbeat production you may wish to add this to your collection".
The gramophone
2018 August
By
By
Hugo Shirley
2018 August
"There's certainly no denying the energy that the director [ex-Python Terry Gilliam] finds to reflect Berlioz's bustling, brilliant but occasionally waffly score ... throwing acrobats and puppets aplenty at the carnival scene ... Thankfully there are some excellent musical performances, not least from Mark Elder, who brings some fizzingly punchy playing from the Rotterdam Philharmonic. John Osborn is ideal as Cellini, too ... Mariangela Sicilia ... sings elegantly and acts engagingly ... I have my reservations about Gilliam's staging, then but ... this flm is certainly more recommendable than Philip Stölzl's sci-fi staging at Salzburg (also Naxos)".
Fono Forum
2018 August
By
By
Manuel Brug
2018 August
"Gilliam vermengt scheinbar divergierende Elemente zu einem geschlossenen, optisch überweltigenden, souverän beherrschten Ganzen. Cellinis Rom des 16. Jahrhunderts ist eine hundert Jahre jüngere, barocke Kulissenbühne mit einer bedrückenden Schwarzweiss-Gefängnisoptik ... Die Kostüme beschwören das Charles-Dickens-London der viktorianischen (Entstehungs-)Zeit. Sie liefern die einzigen Farbtupfer: ... John Osborn mit höhensicherem Tenor ... Maria Angela Sicilia ist eine tolle Teresa, sopranstark und virtuos, Laurent Naouri ein baritonbeweglicher Intrigant als ihr Vater Fieramosca. Alles gipfelt im kaleidoskopisch sich zersplitternden Finale I des Römischen Karnevals".