railyard

I recently purchased a mixed bag of operas at a flea market. Some were DVDs, others were VHS. Some were used, others like new. Among them was this VHS in like new condition. I have heard the Barber of Seville several times and have never really cared that much about it. Except for his overtures, I never cared much for Rossini's music. So when I put this movie on, I was prepared ahead of time to not like it. A few minutes after the overture began, I could tell that I was going to hate it. The orchestra played OK, not great, kind of subdued or restrained. I didn't like any of the singers. Even my wife thought that I sing as good as the lead tenor (Rockwell Blake), which is to say "pretty bad". Figaro was sung by Leo Nucci and I think that the acoustics did him no justice. The biggest gripe I have is that it seems as though there was only one microphone and as the singers moved around the volume went up or down. When Kathleen Battles sang she seemed to try to impress us with how loud and piercing she could sing. At this point, she was giving us a headache and the opera as a whole was making us nervous, so that after watching it for less than 40 minutes, we decided to shut it off and junk it. Now I know that everybody's taste is different. You may listen to it and love it, so I am not one to say don't waste your time or money. Decide for yourself!