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DVD : Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du regiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007)Browse or Search and Buy Online our Best Sellers Shopping Sales of DVD and Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du regiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007). Rating:  - Chaplin AND Keaton Reincarnated in One Small Female Body!It's clear from all the 5-star reviews that there is no danger that anyone will be wondering if this production is worth considering - it clearly is. But I am still keen to make a crucial argument in favor of Ms Dessay's brilliant performance. It seems to me that we - our generation - will be seen in any account of the history of opera, as the first to see productions which - as a general rule, rather than as a rare event - have taken into account the importance of great acting. Opera is, after, indisputably a dramatic art. Millions of dollars and euros and pounds and rubles would not be spent on staging it if it were not. Concert performances have their place, and audio-only recordings enable us to "produce" the operas we love in "the theatre of the mind," with the advantage, on occasion, of having a cast which includes the very best singers of the age; but there is nothing to compare with a production, in an opera house, in which the performances on stage make us believe in the *truth* of what we are witnessing. And our generation sees many more productions than any of its predecessors did in which the singers are also actors who are able, both through how they look and how they act, to make it easy to suspend out disbelief, even make us forget about the central anomaly - that the people in front of us sing rather than speak. We can BELIEVE IN what we see, and thus enjoy it to the full. That said, it strikes me that we are especially fortunate to be living when Natalie Dessay is at the pinnacle of her art. In this instance she is able to demonstrate that she is a brilliant comedienne. For heaven's sake, LA FILLE DU REGIMENT is not the operatic equivalent of a fragile piece of porcelain; it is a jeu d'esprit which has its tongue in its cheek throughout. And Marie is a tomboy who has every right to think of herself as a drudge, and it is this (I think perfectly appropriate) version of Marie that Dessay chooses to embody. (I do not have any inside information about the respective contributions of actor and director, I simply believe, after seeing N.D. in numerous different roles, in every one of which she is stunningly convincing, that the uniqueness of her Marie is largely her own creation.) In almost every instance, in my experience, I would say that if I was watching a play rather than an opera and Ms Dessay performed as "only" an actor, I would be similarly engaged by the quality of her performance. And would applaud as I do when I watch her in opera - from the gut. She is, I believe, an actor of genius, perhaps the one great virtuoso of her generation. I feel sad about anyone who does not love this little shrimp of a sutler, as she does her work and grumbles about it at the same time, who is ready, literally, to jump into the arms of the rather stiff Tyrolean she has found, who is utterly bewildered (but not fazed) by the letter in which she learns who she is. It is a stunningly fine piece of acting, AND, miraculously, she can sing bel canto as well as anyone singing today - and better than almost everyone else. And Strauss, and Mozart, and Ravel and Offenbach and... and... This DVD is one very happy event, in my opinion, one that delivers an hour and a half of high-spirited comedy performed close to perfection. I've been watching a recording taken off the broadcast of the same production from the Vienna State Opera, in which there is also the sublime pleasure of Montserrat Caballé's appearance as the Duchess. Heavenly! And how lovely it is to see how thrilled Dessay is in her presence. Rating:  - Not the Best DVDI saw a tape of another production of "Daughter of the Regiment" and it was fantastic. The DVD I received from Amamzon was different, although the cast was the same. The quality of the film was poor, the lighting was bad, and there was a different conductor. All in all, it did not have the same electricity as the first production that I saw. Rating: - "La Fille" a delight for the eyes and the earsMarvelous singing, fun to watch, wonderful acting and great comic timing by Natalie Dessay, 9 high Cs by Juan Diego Florez. If you want to buy only one bel canto opera buffa, get this one. Rating: - Another comedic masterpieceI remember seeing a traditional La Fille a long time ago; I was bored stiff. But on the strength of the many 5 star reviews, I took a risk on this La Fille. Do it! Like the Le Elisir d'amore with Netrebko and Villazon Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Eschwe, Netrebko, Villazon, Wiener Staatsoper, it takes middling music and makes it tremendous fun. Don't let the anachronistic setting (WW I?) scare you off; this is one of those cases where it works. Dessay starts out as a near-manic, but her acting quickly turns the prosaic story into a dramatic hoot. And then there's Florez' high C's: enough said. I haven't seen the competing La Fille with Ciofi and Florez, but this one is simply too much fun. Get it. Rating: - Donizetti - La fille du regiment - Dessay and FlorezThis is the first opera I have ever bought on DVD, and because it has been such a joyful experience, it won't be the last. I watched twice with my 3 daughters (10, 12 and 14 years old) and we were glued to the screen the whole time. It is set during WWI. A baby girl has been raised from infancy by a French regiment. She falls in love with Tonio, a civilian, but she has promised to marry a member of the regiment. And, of course, her long-lost mother reappears to bring her home. So - will the 2 lovers ever be allowed to unite ? The plot is light as fluff. It is a Comic Opera, so anyone expecting a serious spectacle is watching the wrong thing. One of the background sets is ugly, but utilitarian - and are we watching this to admire sets or the singing of Dessay and Florez ? Dessay and Florez sing their hearts out in this - notably the 9 high Cs in "Ah! mes amis". It is an absolute joy to listen to, and it's funny, to boot ! Dawn French has only a speaking role but is unforgettable as the irascible Duchess. Pop this in the DVD, sit back, and enjoy - even your kids will like it (and might even break out in song once in a while later). |