DVD 10898 IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA (Rossini)

I agree with former reviewer that the DVD quality here is lacking. This production got off to a slow start for me with the entire overture a black screen and then the opening scene with Almaviva looking like a zombie, but the Russians proved themselves worthy of slapstick! Anna Netrebko was very playful and very beautiful. Who knew what a great Lady Macbeth she would eventually become! The rest of the cast was excellent also.

5 stars is quite a generous rating for this DVD. It is a traditional production filmed from in-house and is therefore restricted in what it can do. The sound and the singers are usually very good with the lower voices being very strong. And one reason for buying this DVD is to get a young and fresh Anna Netrebko on film. She seemed to love hitting the high notes and is distinctly different from the more mature singer of today. The picture is more problematic. A blank screen for the overture (which is OK), some messy times at scene and act changes, but not during the performance. At times the picture was briefly a little unfocussed but not too badly and it did not affect the viewing to any great degree. So overall, a little different from any other recording I have watched, I enjoyed it and it is well worth having.