DVD 7162 L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI (Rossini)

L'Italiana (Blythe) has been eating way too much pasta but she has a nice voice. The young tenor,(Florez)has a nasal, reedy voice and seemed much too young to be Blythe's love. The rest of the principals were well cast and in good voice. I found the video a bit grainy but the sound is good. The subtitles were very hard to read and I frequently didn't have time to finish them. The costumes were excellent,stage direction, acting, sets, music and chorus all very good, and excellent Rossini music. All in all not excellent but very good and I think you will enjoy it.

A true 5 star. Professionally made. The only fault is that the translation is not always very clear. The opera itself - a happy cast giving a fine production. A young Florez needs no comments. He is his usual self. Mustafa, played by Woodley, has a fine bass voice and was a very pleasant surprise. Stephanie Blythe also has a great voice and once I got accustomed to her size played her role well. All-in-all a good addition to my collection.