Eric Halfvarson

“here are sex and violence, speeding cars, and plenty of rough language. Maltman himself supplied the translation, which fits the updated setting supremely well but won’t appeal to maiden aunts...Holten has created a film that treats the opera with the respectful kind of disrespect that leaves the work’s core intact. And the performances are mostly riveting...Go on, be brave, give this adventurous Giovanni a whirl.” The Times, 29th September 2012 ****

“a pacey (if slightly cheesy) drama complete with sexy escapades, a car chase, and hospital scenes...Funnily enough, it all sort of works. This is partly because the singers are not only musically good, they can also carry the close scrutiny of the camera lens...Holten gives a lucid account of his motivations for the film in the 'Extras' section.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012 ****

“Holten trades too knowingly, at times, on the narrative disparities between the opera and his film. But this is much more erotic than many stagings of the piece, and by the end we really do understand the nature of Juan's unsettling sexual hold...That's ultimately due to Maltman's charismatic artistry and Holten's filming of it, both of which are sensational.” The Guardian, 13th December 2012 ****

“The well-chosen cast, led by Maltman's assured, sexy Juan, truly look and sound great...But perhaps the ultimate achievement of the Roal Opera House's Kasper Holten in his first feature film...is to make an 'opera film' that really doesn't look like singers standing around a street in costumer wondering why they're not in a theatre. Even if you're phobic about 'modern' productions, give this a go.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013

“It’s all rather ingenious, and will no doubt launch a thousand undergraduate musicology essays...There’s a lot to admire in the technical achievement the film represents, and, as an exploration of the possibilities of opera as film, it’s undoubtedly fascinating; but it is so, one feels, precisely because it demonstrates the limits of that hybrid genre.” Opera, December 2012

“as fine an example of singing by a tenor in Verdi as we have heard in many a year: elegant in detail, movingly expressive and endowed with that special beauty of tone which was Villazon's distinctive gift...he sustained the demanding role without any sign of tiring, forcing or losing quality towards the end” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010

“the love-torn relationship of the titular prince and the fiancée stolen from him by his father the king is sensitively staged and played: Rolando Villazon (in less uncertain voice than reportedly on opening night) and Marina Poplavskaya, a regal beauty much-loved by the camera, make it all movingly fresh...Pappano's urgently impassioned conducting...lends everyone unfailing support.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***

“Villazon's Carlo remains fully committed dramatically...Poplavskaya skilfully develops Elisabetta from coltish girl to anguished queen...[Keenlyside] blazes with conviction...[Furlanetto] shapes his Philip in tone consistently rounded, colourful and expertly controlled...This orchestra knows the piece intimately, and it shows. Pappano is a master of dramatic atmosphere throughout.” International Record Review, December 2010

“…as flames rage over the opening cast credits, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts an incandescent Overture which kindles the brilliance, clarity and indefatigable energy of his music direction throughout. This film powerfully captures the fiery essence of Francesco Zambello's production for the Royal Opera. ...consistently strongly cast, it's as good for the ear as for the eye. Zambello makes Simon Keenlyside's harsh and diabolical Don Giovanni and Kyle Ketelsen's embittered Leporello a double-act of deadly dependency.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 *****

“If one of the cast it to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone. Miah Persson is an adorable Zerlina, and I liked what she and others were encouraged to do by way of vocal ornamentation. Of the men, Giovanni is the least tested vocally though it's all to the good if he can turn a serenade as ingratiatingly as Keenlyside does. Mackerras at the helm is such a reassuringly familiar and well loved figure that we may be tempted to take him for granted.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2009

“This is eminently listenable and surprisingly viewable – 'surprisingly' because complaints were commonly heard concerning the production.
It's not particularly edifying to see so much of Simon Keenlyside's torso or to have Giovanni taking his last supper in shorts, but by modern standards it's almost tasteful. And the singing is almost uniformly fine. If one of the cast is to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone. Marina Poplavskaya's Anna is both dignified and sympathetic, and she too has remarkable command of the necessary technique. Yet the voice itself doesn't serve quite as well as one might have hoped, wanting more heft in 'Or sai chi l'onore' and more ease of passage in 'Non mi dir'. Miah Persson is an adorable Zerlina, and one liked what she and others were encouraged to do by way of vocal ornamentation.
Of the men, Giovanni is the least tested vocally though it's all to the good if he can turn a serenade as ingratiatingly as Keenlyside does. Ramón Vargas hardly looks a suitable lover for this Donna Anna but he sings both arias like the admirably reliable and gifted artist he is and has been for a good many years now. The Masetto looks rather too like the Leporello but that hardly matters and both deserve their applause. The Commendatore's uneven voice production does matter in spite of his sonorous bass notes and imposing stage presence. Mackerras at the helm is such a reassuringly familiar and well loved figure that we may be tempted to take him for granted. Happily the Covent Garden audience shows every sign of appreciation and the final curtain-call is deservedly his.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The casting is first rate, with Gavanelli well matched by the girlish Gilda of Christine Schafer (not previously known as a coloratura but admirably flexible) and the menacingly seductive Duke of Marcelo Alvarez. Edward Downes as ever is a masterly Verdi interpreter” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition **/***

“McVicar's engrossing and perceptive production of Rigoletto at Covent Garden caused something of a stir because of the frank licentiousness of the opening scene, including sex of all varieties. It is a bold and sensational beginning...At its centre is the arresting portrayal of Rigoletto from Paolo Gavanelli...Christine Schäfer's Gilda...is particularly moving in the final act” Gramophone Magazine

“A remarkable Rigoletto...a DVD that has to be in your collection” International Record Review

“David McVicar, who has as much nerve as he has talent, takes this sordid tragedy and offers us the pleasure of rediscovering the great powers of opera” Diapason

“as flames rage over the opening cast credits, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts an incandescent Overture which kindles the brilliance, clarity and indefatigable energy of his music direction throughout. This film powerfully captures the fiery essence of Francesco Zambello's production for the Royal Opera. ...consistently strongly cast, it's as good for the ear as for the eye. Zambello makes Simon Keenlyside's harsh and diabolical Don Giovanni and Kyle Ketelsen's embittered Leporello a double-act of deadly dependency.”” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 *****

“If one of the cast it to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone. Miah Persson is an adorable Zerlina, and I liked what she and others were encouraged to do by way of vocal ornamentation. Of the men, Giovanni is the least tested vocally though it's all to the good if he can turn a serenade as ingratiatingly as Keenlyside does. Mackerras at the helm is such a reassuringly familiar and well loved figure that we may be tempted to take him for granted.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2009

“This is eminently listenable and surprisingly viewable – 'surprisingly' because complaints were commonly heard concerning the production. It's not particularly edifying to see so much of Simon Keenlyside's torso or to have Giovanni taking his last supper in shorts, but by modern standards it's almost tasteful. And the singing is almost uniformly fine. If one of the cast is to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone. Marina Poplavskaya's Anna is both dignified and sympathetic, and she too has remarkable command of the necessary technique. Yet the voice itself doesn't serve quite as well as one might have hoped, wanting more heft in 'Or sai chi l'onore' and more ease of passage in 'Non mi dir'. Miah Persson is an adorable Zerlina, and one liked what she and others were encouraged to do by way of vocal ornamentation. Of the men, Giovanni is the least tested vocally though it's all to the good if he can turn a serenade as ingratiatingly as Keenlyside does. Ramón Vargas hardly looks a suitable lover for this Donna Anna but he sings both arias like the admirably reliable and gifted artist he is and has been for a good many years now. The Masetto looks rather too like the Leporello but that hardly matters and both deserve their applause. The Commendatore's uneven voice production does matter in spite of his sonorous bass notes and imposing stage presence. Mackerras at the helm is such a reassuringly familiar and well loved figure that we may be tempted to take him for granted. Happily the Covent Garden audience shows every sign of appreciation and the final curtain-call is deservedly his.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“This performance appeared on VHS back in March 1997. On a new, wide-screen television, it makes a far more arresting effect. The action seems to be happening in the room with you.
That's due not only to the format but also to director Luc Bondy's wish to portray the personal relationships, the characters' trials and tribulations in the most intimate manner. In contrast to most stagings of Verdi's epic, this one turns all but the outdoor scenes, mainly the Inquisition, into almost a domestic drama.
For better or worse, the principals seem very modern. José van Dam, a magnificent and moving Philippe II, does sometimes remind one of an out-of-sorts bank manager rather than a ruler of an empire, with his troubled wife, in the attractive person and voice of Mattila, as workaday Queen. Charisma is excluded by this interpretation.
The relationship of Carlos and Rodrigue, obviously a very close one, is a touchy-feely affair, one that Alagna, in a sincere, beautifully sung assumption, and a palpitating Thomas Hampson, execute with flair.
As ever, Meier isn't content with conventional acting: her Eboli is a scheming and seductive presence, consoling us with the intensity of her singing with a voice a shade light for her part.
Indeed, on re-appraising the musical side of the performance, which was recorded live at the Châtelet in Paris, it strikes you that all the voices are a degree lighter than we're used to in the piece, but that suits the French text, giving an ease and fluidity to the vocal line that is, in truth, its own justification.
Even more impressive on rehearing is Pappano's conducting, alive to every nuance of the long work yet aware of its overall structure. In the new medium the clarity and immediacy of the picture is arresting. The sound, though a shade soft in focus, is a great improvement on its 'ordinary' video counterpart. Owners of DVD players who want to add this unforgettable work to their collection need not hesitate – provided they can see it on a wide screen.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The score is tautly and warmly presented, as on cd, by Antonio Pappano and the principals are as fine a team as have ever been assembled for this opera on disc...Mattila gives the most masterly performance as the Queen...Alagna is in superb voice too, firm and heroic” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ****