DVD 7151 IL SANT'ALESSO (Landi)

This is a brilliant production in all respects: cast, set, costumes, score, direction. It is the story of St. Alexis who embraced a life of holy poverty, abandoning his wife and family while living as a beggar beneath the steps of his father's castle in Rome. Most of the opera consists of the laments of his father, mother, wife and friends over his whereabouts and fortune. By the end of the opera, Alexis dies and goes to heaven. The cast is all male and the singing is wonderful, individually and in ensembles. In the first act there is a spectacular chorus of dancing demons attended by Satan himself with a "glorious" bass voice. In other scenes there are choruses of angels. Landi was a contemporary of Monteverdi and as I watched this opera, that wonderful production of L'Orfeo by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle came immediately to mind. Both productions are feasts for the eyes as well as the ears. I've read several reviews of this production and all were glowing. This DVD is technically excellent; picture and sound-wise. Near the end of Act 2, the subtitles dropped out, but it was clear that the singers were lamenting Alexis' disappearance. In Act 3, the subtitles resurfaced. Between acts, there is a screen showing the three acts with a highlighted "button" for the current act. My screen got stuck at Act 3 and finally I used the "skip" button of my remote to pass the impasse successfully. Those were the extent of the technical problems. This is a great production and I recommend it. This is high praise from me, because I basically don't even like baroque opera!