I personally wouldn't go as far to say that Stiffelio is among Verdi's best. Of course it has some really fine music and the characters are complex and interesting, especially the titular character, but the story apart from being psychologically fascinating and when told well is easy to get immersed in is not always consistent. The DVD competition is not a large one, in fact, as far as I know, there's only three productions available. The other two are both from 1993, one with Placido Domingo(my favourite) and the other with Jose Carreras. This 2012 Parma production is my least favourite of the three, but it is still excellent.
There isn't much to say really that was wrong here. At the top of my head, I can only think of two problems. One was Raffaele's costume, in a bright colour that was at odds with the rest of the costumes and the setting. The other, and the bigger of the two productions was Andrea Battistoni's conducting. It is not a hack job, far from it. In fact it is competent, well-paced with some decent enough attention to orchestral textures, but at the same time it was not very dynamic or exciting, at times rather rigid with not that much bounce. Of the three DVD conductors for Stiffelio, the best was James Levine on the Domingo Met DVD by quite some fair distance.
Guy Montavon does do a very fine job with the stage direction, very compelling and intensely moving with the tension building up slowly but seamlessly. This was especially true in the Act 2 duet between Lina and Stankar, a father-daughter duet that has all the tenderness and intensity of those between Gilda and her father in Rigoletto. And also the final scene, which gives meaning to the term emotional climax. It is a very striking production visually also. The sets are minimalist and austere, but also expressive and clean. The costumes may seem rather drably coloured to some, but in design they are still attractive and appropriate, and the colours did fit with the opera's story and also the austerity of the setting. The picture quality is clear and the video directing is unobtrusive and captures the drama well.
Despite the conducting, the orchestra still play beautifully. They do take care to blend with one another, and show elegant phrasing and good musicianship, though they just lack the emotional complexity and searing intensity that was there in the orchestras under Levine and Edward Downes on their respective DVDs. The chorus sing vibrantly and clearly seem well-rehearsed, and they react to the drama very well. In fact this is one of their more involved performances from the Parma productions featured in the Tutto Verdi collection, if not quite as detailed as what was done so brilliantly with 2008's Rigoletto. The sound is first-rate similarly.
Stiffelio is essentially a singers' opera, and all five principals do a sterling job. Roberto Aronica, who I'm looking forward to seeing more of, takes on the challenging title role with nobility, maturity and furthermore brings forth a great voice that never seems taxed by the demands the music has. The sound has a baritone-like warmth in the middle and the top notes are un-strained and carry over the orchestra well. He doesn't quite embody Stiffelio like Domingo does(then again does anybody expect that?) but the character traits are there and there is also a personable charm that was there with Carreras. Guanqun Yu is also promising and just needs to make sure, seeing as she's singing Verdi at a fairly young age, that she's not taking on too much too soon. She has a full soprano voice that sounds really radiant, showing both plaintiveness and steel(similar to that of Sharon Sweet really), and she is a good actress, bringing forth Lina's many conflicts with sympathy and understatement like Catherine Malfitano.
Roberto Frontali is the most well-known and most experienced, and it shows. Firm, sympathetic and authoritative, - not uncommon traits in Verdi baritone roles I've noticed - he is wonderful as the father-figure Stankar, and really fleshes him out. He is in great voice as well, Vladimir Chernov may have more variety of tone colour but Frontali shows beautiful soft singing, the most expressive phrasing of all the principals and a richly produced voice, very like Chernov and Gregory Yurisich. George Andguladze is an appropriately compassionate Jorg, Stiffelio's conscience. His voice is well-projected and strong, not too woolly or unsteady, though it just lacks the sonority of Paul Plishka and Gwyne Howell. Raffaele is not very interesting as a character, and while a little stolid dramatically Gabriele Magnione still sings with a pleasing ring and crisp style(much prefer his voice over Robin Legatte on the Carreras DVD).
To conclude, an excellent production, not quite as good as the Domingo and Carreras productions(though I've rated the three productions very closely together) but does nothing to disgrace the opera or Verdi. It is certainly one of the better performances from the Tutto Verdi collection, with the best being 2008's Rigoletto and the worst being 2005's Ernani. 8/10 Bethany Cox
There isn't much to say really that was wrong here. At the top of my head, I can only think of two problems. One was Raffaele's costume, in a bright colour that was at odds with the rest of the costumes and the setting. The other, and the bigger of the two productions was Andrea Battistoni's conducting. It is not a hack job, far from it. In fact it is competent, well-paced with some decent enough attention to orchestral textures, but at the same time it was not very dynamic or exciting, at times rather rigid with not that much bounce. Of the three DVD conductors for Stiffelio, the best was James Levine on the Domingo Met DVD by quite some fair distance.
Guy Montavon does do a very fine job with the stage direction, very compelling and intensely moving with the tension building up slowly but seamlessly. This was especially true in the Act 2 duet between Lina and Stankar, a father-daughter duet that has all the tenderness and intensity of those between Gilda and her father in Rigoletto. And also the final scene, which gives meaning to the term emotional climax. It is a very striking production visually also. The sets are minimalist and austere, but also expressive and clean. The costumes may seem rather drably coloured to some, but in design they are still attractive and appropriate, and the colours did fit with the opera's story and also the austerity of the setting. The picture quality is clear and the video directing is unobtrusive and captures the drama well.
Despite the conducting, the orchestra still play beautifully. They do take care to blend with one another, and show elegant phrasing and good musicianship, though they just lack the emotional complexity and searing intensity that was there in the orchestras under Levine and Edward Downes on their respective DVDs. The chorus sing vibrantly and clearly seem well-rehearsed, and they react to the drama very well. In fact this is one of their more involved performances from the Parma productions featured in the Tutto Verdi collection, if not quite as detailed as what was done so brilliantly with 2008's Rigoletto. The sound is first-rate similarly.
Stiffelio is essentially a singers' opera, and all five principals do a sterling job. Roberto Aronica, who I'm looking forward to seeing more of, takes on the challenging title role with nobility, maturity and furthermore brings forth a great voice that never seems taxed by the demands the music has. The sound has a baritone-like warmth in the middle and the top notes are un-strained and carry over the orchestra well. He doesn't quite embody Stiffelio like Domingo does(then again does anybody expect that?) but the character traits are there and there is also a personable charm that was there with Carreras. Guanqun Yu is also promising and just needs to make sure, seeing as she's singing Verdi at a fairly young age, that she's not taking on too much too soon. She has a full soprano voice that sounds really radiant, showing both plaintiveness and steel(similar to that of Sharon Sweet really), and she is a good actress, bringing forth Lina's many conflicts with sympathy and understatement like Catherine Malfitano.
Roberto Frontali is the most well-known and most experienced, and it shows. Firm, sympathetic and authoritative, - not uncommon traits in Verdi baritone roles I've noticed - he is wonderful as the father-figure Stankar, and really fleshes him out. He is in great voice as well, Vladimir Chernov may have more variety of tone colour but Frontali shows beautiful soft singing, the most expressive phrasing of all the principals and a richly produced voice, very like Chernov and Gregory Yurisich. George Andguladze is an appropriately compassionate Jorg, Stiffelio's conscience. His voice is well-projected and strong, not too woolly or unsteady, though it just lacks the sonority of Paul Plishka and Gwyne Howell. Raffaele is not very interesting as a character, and while a little stolid dramatically Gabriele Magnione still sings with a pleasing ring and crisp style(much prefer his voice over Robin Legatte on the Carreras DVD).
To conclude, an excellent production, not quite as good as the Domingo and Carreras productions(though I've rated the three productions very closely together) but does nothing to disgrace the opera or Verdi. It is certainly one of the better performances from the Tutto Verdi collection, with the best being 2008's Rigoletto and the worst being 2005's Ernani. 8/10 Bethany Cox
