DVD 5429 LA GIOCONDA (Ponchielli)

in 1979 beforeREGGIE was even a dirty word, san francisco produced this spectacular Gioconda,set in renaissance venice and no where else.brilliant costumes,fine acting and singing just superb. ok so the sound is not perfect but good enough for one to enjoy everything. For the audience it must have been a night to remember

Glorious music and singing throughout. Sets, costumes, acting, all fine. Picture a bit grainy by today's standards and I did notice the tape hiss in the quiet passages. All in all, just wonderful.

I'm giving this DVD 4 stars instead of 5 solely because of the sound. There is a slight buzzing, which is a problem only in quiet places, but there are also some other places where the sound breaks up. I don't want to make too big a deal about it, because the performance is definitely worth seeing and hearing, and the sound isn't all that bad, but I do feel that potential buyers should be aware that the sound is not as good as on many DVDs. I wish someone would release this on a commercial disk with really good sound and picture. About 158 minutes.

Superior Quality indeed!! This is a fantastic performance. The public applauded not only for the singers but in Act III also for the stage scenery. Scotto, althoug 45 y. old, is quite capable of interpreting a woman 20 years younger and gives a totally professional performance. Pavarotti is in good form but this role is not very demanding for him. Excellent characterization of the evil Barnaba by Mittelmann. Furlanettos voice is terrific, but he is too young for this role (1979 was his debut in the US). Nevertheless all main characters are outstanding. The only drawback is that the English subtitles cannot be switched off.