Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD EAN: 9786305089193 Format: Classical, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC ISBN: 6305089191 Label: Image Entertainment Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Number Of Discs: 1 Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Image Entertainment Release Date: August 26, 1998 Running Time: 168 minutes Studio: Image Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 1991 Sales Rank: 154465
Description: Enter the sparkling world of eighteenth-century commedia musicale! Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's "Lo Frate 'nnamorato" is a jewel of an opera, rediscovered and mounted by Riccardo Muti and the forces of La Scala to universal acclaim. A charming tale of mismatched lovers and rival suitors, the story provides a wealth of arias and ensemble pieces displaying an astonishing variety of melodies! This sumptuous production reflects the superb alliance of musical and artistic talent brought together to make this little-known baroque masterpiece a triumph of the stage.
Amazon.com: If his life had not been so tragically short, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736) might have become a friend of Mozart. Musically, he is a predecessor. He used the idioms of baroque comic opera (which were much more flexible than the rigid forms of opera seria) to convey emotional depths as well as hilarity. Sometimes he anticipates Mozart's style a half-century later. Most of the time, Lo Frate 'Nnamorato (using a Neapolitan dialect that makes the subtitles doubly welcome) is a delightfully melodious romp through standard opera buffa situations: servants are smarter than their masters, old men scheme to marry young women who find ingenious ways to resist patriarchal pressure, young lovers have silly quarrels. The music is splendid and beautifully performed. There is much virtuoso singing and Ricardo Muti stylishly conducts a small orchestra of period instruments. The visual elements--sets, costumes, and acting--are all excellent. Baroque comic opera has been underrepresented in video recordings, but this outstanding production does a lot to make amends. --Joe McLellan
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Buy this opera for the singing alone
This 3 hour opera purports to be 100% Pergolesi. I wouldn't want to have to swear to that, but certainly the music is quite nice and is baroque with a few classical touches. R. Muti conducts a portion ... Read More
Rating: - Italian baroque opera treat....lose a star for dvd transfer
The sound is excellent, the menu is good, the performance is delightful. I turned up the "sharpness" on my Sony 7000 player to compensate for softness. Fortunately, the lighting is great which helps. I think ... Read More
- Buy this opera for the singing alone
- Italian baroque opera treat....lose a star for dvd transfer