Fedora

love this opera. I wish that the soprano had a great, big aria but she does have a few smaller ones that are ok.

Mirella Freni is so close to my heart that I never could say anything bad about her. She seems to have found the fountain of youth, singing grandly, if without the high C in the duet that closes act II (she sang it on the pirate recording from La Scala). Who cares when she does everything so well.

I heard her in the role (live) at Washington DC opera back in '98. I've heard Jane Eaglen in Seattle several times and, unless the size of the house is part of it, Mirella Freni has no smaller voice than Eaglen. Freni is truly a spinto-dramatic soprano. Thankfully, she moved slowly from lighter roles to some of the heaviest dramatic Italian roles. She is less at home in this production than in Washington. Domingo (who gives and astonishing, wonderful performance) is more at home in this production than in Washington. I love Arteta and Croft. This is meaty stuff with Mirella Freni getting a 17 minute ovation, audience having banners for her and getting a "key to New York" from the Mayor. Enjoy!

Once again Deutsche Grammophon and the Met have supplied us with not just a good performance but a great one in the nature of Umberto Giordano's "Fedora" - not an opera you see much these days but one that is well worth the price of the DVD. It seems that Deutsche Grammaphon and the Met are setting the bar for how all opera DVD's should be released: they always have an all star cast, the stage direction and scenery is wonderful and the orchestra is always working hand-in-hand with the singers (I know some of this can be manipulated in the engineering of the disc but it still works wonderfully). The cast of Placido Domingo as Loris, Mirella Freni as Fedora, Dwayne Croft as De Siriex and Olga Sukarew as Ainhow Arteta were outstanding. They all maintained great voice throughout the performance and supplied as great acting as well. The costumes and set design were all period pieces and done well. Mr. Domingo's Act II Amor ti Vieta was in typical Domingo fashion - flawless, heartfelt and classy. As I have mentioned before his voice is an instrument we may not see the likes of for a very long time. Ms. Freni simply owned the stage when she was on it and was warmly received by a long ovation once she made her appearance. We were also treated to Jean-Yves Thibaudet giving us an Act II piano solo that was wonderful.

Overall the entire performance from beginning to the final bows was exceptional. Clocking in at 108 minutes this is a perfect performance to and watch without feeling as if you need to commit an entire evening. It also allows you to listen in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 or PCM Stereo. You can only rave so much about a near-perfect DVD, and so I will end with what has been stated. It's a great buy. JG

This is not a classic opera, for sure -- but BUY THIS for the singing. I can't find anything to nitpick at and that's unusual for me. The singing, production, direction, conducting all seem to be right on the mark. Domingo and Freni have always been 2 of my favorite singers but here we have preserved what in my view is the performance of a lifetime. It all seems so real. Their scene in the last part of Acts 2 & 3 are worth the price of the DVD alone.