Stiffelio
STIFFELIO Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi: libretto by Francesco Maria Piave after the play Le Pasteur ou L'evangile et le foyer by Emile Souvestre and Eugene Bourgeois. Producer Elijah Moshinsky, set designer Michael Yeargan, costume designer Peter J. Hall: lighting Paul Pyant First performance at the Royal Opera House.
Covent Garden on 25 January 1993.
Lina... Catherine Malfitano
Dorotea... Adele Paxton
Stiffelio... José Carreras
Raffaele di Leuthold... Robin Leggate
Federico di Frengel... Lynton Atkinson
Stankar... Gregory Yurisich
Jorg... Gwynne Howell
Conductor: Edward Downes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Stiffelio shows Giuseppe Verdi on the brink of greatness (his next opera would be Rigoletto) but falling short of the full recognition he deserves. The opera is not problem-free, but it is, musically and dramatically, better than its reputation, and only recently has it begun to be fully appreciated. This fine production has helped, as has a Metropolitan Opera telecast with Placido Domingo in the title role. In this 1993 Covent Garden production, the setting was shifted from Europe to America, where a duel with sabers seems slightly out of place.
José Carreras generates intense emotion as a minister whose wife (Catherine Malfitano) has been unfaithful. "Forgiveness is easy," he reflects, "for a heart that has not been wounded." Can he fulfill his Christian duty and forgive her? The conflict of instinct and principle is prime operatic material. But in 19th- century Italy, the censors and the public were not ready for an opera about a married clergyman. --Joe McLellan --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
From the Back Cover
José Carreras stars in the lead role with Catherine Malfitano in this Royal Opera performance of Verdi's dramatic opera. 123 minutes, color, 1993, sung in Italian with English subtitles. Cast:
Gwynne Howell: Jorg
Lynton Atkinson: Federico
Robin Leggate: Raffaele
Gregory Yurisich: Stankar
José Carreras: Stiffelio
Catherine Malfitano: Lina
Adele Paxton: Dorotea
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Stiffelio (Gesamtaufnahme · Complete)
Plácido Domingo · Sharon Sweet Vladimir Chernov · Paul Plishka The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus James Levine Production by Giancarlo del Monaco Video Director: Brian Large
DVD-VIDEO NTSC 000440 073 4288 6 |G|H| STEREO: PCM / SURROUND: Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS 5.1 Picture Format: 4:3 Subtitles: Italian/English/German/French/Spanish/Chinese A production of Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc.
