Roberto Alagna

Angela & Roberto Forever
$16.98
. . . and according to all the vicious Opera gossip its gonna be UGLY!

Anyway, think of this as an aural Wedding Album, a sad reminder of things that are no longer. Too bad that Angie and Bob didn't realize the best collaborations come from people who AREN'T married to one another for real, but have wonderful on-stage chemistry (i.e., MacDonald/Eddy, Comden/Green, Hunt/Wrightson, Rogers/Astaire, Colbert/MacMurray, etc.) It sounds as if she wants to "move on" from collaborations with the soon to be ex so these are souvenirs of a bygone era. Both of them are well known for diva-like behavior (walking off stage during performances, not showing up for rehearsals, etc.) and that probably didn't help things. I would recommend the wives of very attractive up and coming tenors and the husbands of model-like divas keep their spouses on a very short leash.

In all fairness, they did make nice music together. Collectors item as I don't think this is going to be in print very much longer.

Verdi - Aida
$39.98
This is a decent Aida. Alagna sings Radames better than I thought he would. I thought his voice would be too light for the role. Urmana is also better than I expected, because previously I thought she was squally when I saw her sing the La Forza Leonora and the HD Aida from the Met recently. So she was in much better form than I have seen her in.

I normally like Zeffirelli's set designs, but what is this obsession with golden rods strung horizontally throughout this production? What are they supposed to signify?

I agree with other reviewers about this video though. The video/tv director spends way too much time focusing on pieces of fabric and details of the sets while the singers are singing. It starts out being a very small annoyance, but by the Tomb Scene you are so sick of seeing a piece of fabric while the singers are singing and then it suddenly gets ten times worse during this Tomb Scene. It is like the video director did not want you to even see the Tomb Scene at all. It is incredibly annoying! Whoever made the decision to continually cut to fabric and inanimate objects throughout the video is an idiot. The Tomb Scene is one of the most beautiful moments in all of opera and it was spoiled.

Sicilian
$24.49
When downloading this CD to the PC for Ipod use, all the information
came up in 'Chinese'??? What an annoying surprise. Otherwisea fine CD
WH

Puccini - Tosca / Gheorghiu, Alagna, Raimondi, Muraro, Cangelosi, Pappano, Royal Opera (2000 film)
$29.99
This shabbly, little shocker as Tosca was once known, comes to it fullblown potential here with the dream couple of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. Never before in opera were there two more physically beautiful stars to embody the essences of Floria Tosca and her lover, Mario Cavaradossi with voices and expressions to match. This Tosca outclasses the Domingo/Behrens production that I have on VHS. For once there's a Floria Tosca simply and beautifully attired in a classic red dress befitting the diva. Gheorghiu is worthy and truly the best successor to Maria Callas, who once owned this role. Roberto Alagna is dreamily expressive and in such fine voice, though his Mario is a bit more passive than the more traditionally fiery Marios of Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Neil Shicoff, the only one of these three tenors still singing this role today. Tosca remains a classic must do opera for the worthy tenors and sopranos of today. Ruggero Raimondi, whom I still vividly remember as a seductive Escamillo in Carmen, has turned his seductive power lustfully to evil and falls to Tosca's Kiss of the blade. It's fitting that Tosca will be opening the 2009-10 season this September 21 at the Metropolitan Opera. It's an opera one can pour one's heart and soul into as these two lovers live larger than life, bravely defying those around them to their very end. Bravo/Brava.