servile

Spanish copper engraver beginning of the 19th Century (Militia soldiers bury the servile or reactionaries) White Wood-Mounted Art Poster Print - 13" X 19"
$99.99

Spanish copper engraver beginning of the 19th Century (Militia soldiers bury the servile or reactionaries) - 13" X 19"
$3.99

Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) / Servile, Ganassi, Vargas, Romero, de Grandis; Humburg
$26.99
I first heard this performance on radio lately - the concluding Act, with Ramon Vargas's Count Almaviva singing the fiendishly difficult "Cessa di piu resistere". Having only heard it from Juan Diego Florez, Vargas really caught me by surprise.
I then obtained the full set, and must say that this disc is NOT merely a good bargain disc - it is a solidly wonderful performance all through.
The pair of Figaro-Almaviva in this recording rivals any other best pairs - Florez/Mattei; Prey/Wunderlich. Roberto Seville's opening aria is very witty and funny; the best version that I've heard in many a while. A great shame that he did not manage to perform in my city as Rigoletto this March!
Will Humburg has the absolutely right approach to the score - it is funny, it is biting, it is witty.
No wonder Ramon Vargas managed eventually to reach the status of top lyrical tenor these days. Back 16 years ago, he was already singing Count Almaviva's fiendishly difficult role in the full score to such exalted standard!
What will happen if he is BUT slightly better-looking?
My conclusion: together with Raul Gimenez, Vargas should have ALREADY reached the superstar tenorissimo status long ago had they cared to resort to plastic surgery.

Puccini - La Boheme / Pavarotti, d'Amico, Genoa Opera Company [VHS]
$24.95
Note: I saw this on TV, and missed Act I. My comments apply to acts II-IV. If you are familiar with the Met's production by Zefferelli, the staging here is similar, but in some ways superior: act II is less crowded, and the horseplay in the beginning of act IV comes off as more spontaneous. It's a good naturalistic production.
Pavarotti is in fine voice. The rest of the cast were unfamiliar to me, but uniformly good. Musetta and Mimi, in particular, brought not only blemishless singing, but acting a cut above what one normally sees. This is one of the first Mimis I've ever seen who actually looks ill. She also showed the complexities of Mimi's emotions in act three, when she is facing the failure of her relationship with Rodolfo. Pavarotti was never a *great* actor, but he has his moments. There are more than a few in this film.
I haven't seen the Freni-Pavarotti film, so I can't compare. The wise thing would probably be to get both.