La Fanciulla Del West is never going to be one of my favourite Puccini operas. The story and characters are not that plausible, but while there are no memorable arias as such apart from Minnie Dalla Mia Casa and Ch'Ella Mi Creda there is some splendid craftsmanship in Puccini's score. This production is not a bad one, it does have many good merits actually, but of the seven productions I've seen- 1963(with Antonietta Stella, my personal favourite of the productions seen), 1982 Covent Garden, 1992 Met, 1991 La Scala, 2005 Torre Del Lago and 2008 Met- this one from Netherlandse Oper is my least favourite.
It does deserve a lot of credit where it's due. It is musically exceptional, with the orchestral playing a perfect balance of lush for the Act 1 duet, sensitive for the two big arias of the opera and powerful for the whole of Act 2. Carlo Rizzi's conducting is well-phrased and full of authority. There are some cuts, including 2 in Act 1, which may annoy those who prefer what they're hearing to have everything included, but this doesn't harm the musical side at all.
Eva-Marie Westbroek is a superb Minnie, on par with all the Minnies who sang the role before her. Her voice is strong, not too squally and could always be heard even in Act 2, which contains some of the loudest moments of the entire score. She is also riveting on a dramatic front, so much so in the poker scene in particular you see the character of Minnie and not somebody acting her. Her radiance on stage makes it clear to see why everybody in the opera loves her.
Lucio Gallo may show signs of dryness in his voice compared to his 1991 Figaro and 1998 Lescaut, but that doesn't detract from the fact that his performance of Jack Rance is a very interesting one. Perhaps not as dimensional as Sherrill Milnes for the Met and on record, but just as good, altogether thrilling and sinister. Even with the dryness and occasional moments of unsteadiness his voice is big and shows good phrasing in his big moments. He also has no difficulty being heard.
The miners all give solid performances, managing to distinguish themselves from one another and sing excellently individually and together. Sid, Sonora and Nick are especially good. Castro is perhaps too parlando though.
On the technical side with the DVD, the production looks just great. It all looks clear and the sound whether in surround or capturing the balances between the orchestra and voices is wonderful.
I was a little disappointed however in Zoran Todorovich as Dick Johnson. He is not bad actually, he does have a good voice, has all the notes, looks ardent and acts like a bandit and a lover more than acceptably. Where I had issues with him was his phrasing and lack of musicality. A lot of his phrasing like his opening line was in need of more lyricism and less of a pushed out quality(which makes him occasionally go off-pitch). His singing could have also done with more dynamic shading and legato.
Visually, I was left confused. The production updating is very vague, I was never sure of which period it was meant to be set in. The sets make you wish there was that evocative Gold Rush setting that made the 1992 Met production particularly so pleasing to look at, and looking at the costumes I was confused as to whether the characters were meant to be Mafia gangsters, stock merchants or New York crooks wandered off the streets.
As for the stage direction, faring best is Act 2. It is a masterstroke dramatically and the Poker scene is intensity-personified. One too many touches don't work. I didn't get much of a sense that everybody was glad that Minnie had arrived, while the ending complete with the MGM lion is too Hollywood-ish compared to the poignant ending I am used to. Minnie's gestures in her great entrance and Dick Johnson joining Minnie on the staircase at the end of the opera by swinging on the rope that he was about to be hanged on came across as too gimmicky as well, which detracts greatly from the impact of those scenes. The duet was beautifully sung but perhaps too overly-sentimental.
Overall, spot on from the musical side of things but confused. 6/10 Bethany Cox
It does deserve a lot of credit where it's due. It is musically exceptional, with the orchestral playing a perfect balance of lush for the Act 1 duet, sensitive for the two big arias of the opera and powerful for the whole of Act 2. Carlo Rizzi's conducting is well-phrased and full of authority. There are some cuts, including 2 in Act 1, which may annoy those who prefer what they're hearing to have everything included, but this doesn't harm the musical side at all.
Eva-Marie Westbroek is a superb Minnie, on par with all the Minnies who sang the role before her. Her voice is strong, not too squally and could always be heard even in Act 2, which contains some of the loudest moments of the entire score. She is also riveting on a dramatic front, so much so in the poker scene in particular you see the character of Minnie and not somebody acting her. Her radiance on stage makes it clear to see why everybody in the opera loves her.
Lucio Gallo may show signs of dryness in his voice compared to his 1991 Figaro and 1998 Lescaut, but that doesn't detract from the fact that his performance of Jack Rance is a very interesting one. Perhaps not as dimensional as Sherrill Milnes for the Met and on record, but just as good, altogether thrilling and sinister. Even with the dryness and occasional moments of unsteadiness his voice is big and shows good phrasing in his big moments. He also has no difficulty being heard.
The miners all give solid performances, managing to distinguish themselves from one another and sing excellently individually and together. Sid, Sonora and Nick are especially good. Castro is perhaps too parlando though.
On the technical side with the DVD, the production looks just great. It all looks clear and the sound whether in surround or capturing the balances between the orchestra and voices is wonderful.
I was a little disappointed however in Zoran Todorovich as Dick Johnson. He is not bad actually, he does have a good voice, has all the notes, looks ardent and acts like a bandit and a lover more than acceptably. Where I had issues with him was his phrasing and lack of musicality. A lot of his phrasing like his opening line was in need of more lyricism and less of a pushed out quality(which makes him occasionally go off-pitch). His singing could have also done with more dynamic shading and legato.
Visually, I was left confused. The production updating is very vague, I was never sure of which period it was meant to be set in. The sets make you wish there was that evocative Gold Rush setting that made the 1992 Met production particularly so pleasing to look at, and looking at the costumes I was confused as to whether the characters were meant to be Mafia gangsters, stock merchants or New York crooks wandered off the streets.
As for the stage direction, faring best is Act 2. It is a masterstroke dramatically and the Poker scene is intensity-personified. One too many touches don't work. I didn't get much of a sense that everybody was glad that Minnie had arrived, while the ending complete with the MGM lion is too Hollywood-ish compared to the poignant ending I am used to. Minnie's gestures in her great entrance and Dick Johnson joining Minnie on the staircase at the end of the opera by swinging on the rope that he was about to be hanged on came across as too gimmicky as well, which detracts greatly from the impact of those scenes. The duet was beautifully sung but perhaps too overly-sentimental.
Overall, spot on from the musical side of things but confused. 6/10 Bethany Cox
