DVD Videos

“Bartoli's evident, and infectious, enthusiasm and delight in studying the career of Maria Malibran is sketched in Michael Sturminger's documentary… Bartoli's concert, in the spectacular surroundings of Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana, includes many of the same arias that were on her CD "Maria" (12/07). With the encouragement of a wildly enthusiastic audience, she surpasses those performances, and in two Rossini items, the Willow Song from Otello and the final Rondo from La Cenerentola (neither on the CD), one feels that she is indeed invoking the shade of Manuel García's daughter. As for the final encore, "Yo que soy contrabandista" from García's opera El poeta calculista, in which Bartoli is accompanied by guitar, castanets, and "clappers", it has to be heard and seen to be appreciated: serious fun.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2009

“No prima donna since Callas and Sutherland has excited such extreme reactions in audiences and critics as Cecilia Bartoli. This pair of DVDs will delight her admirers and perhaps confound some of the detractors. Bartoli's evident, and infectious, enthusiasm and delight in studying the career of Maria Malibran is sketched in Michael Sturminger's documentary, in whichwe follow her to many of the theatres and streets associated with the diva beloved of the Romantic imagination. In libraries and museums we are able to view some of the scores used by Malibran in her brief and stormy progress through the capitals of Europe. From the opening shots of a gondola in Venice passing through the Rio Malibran, to the final glimpse of her tomb in Brussels, one gets some idea of the impact she made on audiences in the 1820s and '30s.
Bartoli's concert, in the spectacular surroundings of Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana, includes many of the same arias that were on her CD 'Maria' (see above). With the encouragement of a wildly enthusiastic audience, she surpasses those performances, and in two Rossini items, the Willow Song from Otello and the final Rondo from La Cenerentola (neither on the CD), one feels that she is indeed invoking the shade of Manuel García's daughter. 'Nacqui' all'affano' benefits from Bartoli's study of Malibran's own variations for Cenerentola. As for the final encore, 'Yo que soy contrabandista' from García's opera El poeta calculista, in which Bartoli is accompanied by guitar, castanets, and 'clappers', it has to be heard and seen to be appreciated: serious fun.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“[Bartoli] has aimed not only to present Malibran's repertoire but also to capture her sound. Bartoli's rich voice, with its pyrotechnical capabilities and dramatic powers, couldn’t have been better suited to the task...More than just a history lesson though, this is wonderful music sung by a modern-day star.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 11th January 2008

“Bartoli's personality comes through superbly...The concert was clearly a success and the excitement of the occasion comes over well in this handsomely produced DVD” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Georg Solti's Grammy-winning recording is more idiomatic than some much praised rivals both in his intense, atmospheric conducting (he was briefly Bartók's pupil) and his native Hungarian singers. Here it provides the soundtrack to cinema director Miklós Szinetár's vivid interpretation, capturing both author Balázs's Pelléas-like mysticism and more contemporary psychodrama. Sylvia Sass is deeply impressive, vocally incisive but sensitive and smoulderingly dramatic.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 *****

“His two soloists could not have been better chosen, for both the dark-timbred Kolos Kovats and the rich-voiced Sylvia Sass are totally convincing in their roles....Solti's orchestral commentary is superbly controlled: the taut grip for which his conducting is celebrated is felt at its most magnetic, and the powerful closing scene is haunting.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Decca's DVD is to be welcomed in this 40th anniversary year of Pizzetti's death, a reminder of his creative genius. Visually, the production is simple but effective. The sound is well balanced, the basilican acoustic suiting the music, and the performances all round are excellent.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008

“Assassinio nella cattedrale has been absurdly neglected on the stage (as indeed has Pizzetti generally) but this superbly paced and intensely felt reading brings home the beauty and nobility of this score. Recommended with enthusiasm.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Schenk's direction is stodgy, but authentic settings and a superb cast, with Janowitz in angelic voice and Solti at his Straussian finest make this the best Arabella in any medium. Michael Scott Rohan” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 *****

“…a valuable record and a highly enjoyable one, in Elijah Moshinsky's clean-cut production… Pavarotti, in golden voice and intense presence, is well matched by Louis Quilico's rich-voiced, mordant Renato and Katia Ricciarelli's deeply felt if occasionally strained Amelia, not to mention Judith Blegen's sparkling Oscar.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 *****

“Pavarotti [is] at his very finest, both as singer and actor...Patane conducts throughout with flair and Brian Large's video direction could hardly be bettered.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ****