Horne, Marilyn

Carmen Jones

Few actresses have captivated the camera as powerfully as Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones. Her polished beauty plays in irresistible contrast to her title character's leonine sexuality and fluid emotions; a man can't decide from moment to moment if he wants to save her from doom, build her a castle, or never let her out of bed. Of course, that's the problem with the boys in this semi-experimental adaptation of Bizet's opera, Carmen. Straight-arrow Joe (a strapping Harry Belafonte), an obedient corporal on a Southern military base during World War II, is all set to go to flight school and marry his hometown sweetie, Cindy Lou (Olga James), when his troublemaking sergeant orders him to accompany Carmen to a civilian court. In short order, Joe is swept up in Carmen's carnal anarchy and her craving for release from lousy options in life. An impulsive act of violence ensures that Joe's future is gone forever, putting Carmen in the difficult position of destroying their relationship to save him. Oscar Hammerstein II took Bizet's music in 1943 and rewrote the book and lyrics. The result is largely a smashing success with a few missteps (the bullfighter in Bizet's piece becomes a heavyweight boxer here, which breaks up a certain grace in the story) and a couple of perfect stretches (the long prelude to Carmen and Joe's first embrace, set on Carmen's hoodoo-ish home turf). Despite the fact that both Dandridge and Belafonte were singers, their vocal performances were dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne. (Yes, it is a little disconcerting to hear another voice come out of the more familiar Belafonte's mouth.) Otto Preminger directed with his usual eye on economy of action and production, as the numerous musical numbers tend to be shot in lengthy, single, carefully choreographed takes. The result can be a little visually static at times, but the passion behind the singing pulls everything through. --Tom Keogh

Powered by Georges Bizet's grand music and Oscar Hammerstein II's magnificent lyrics, this Americanized all-black version of the classic opera Carmen is "a dynamic superb show" with a positively "incandescent Carmen." (Newsweek) OscarÂ(r) -nominee Dorothy Dandridge stars in the title role, a passionate, sexy creature who lures Joe (Harry Belafonte), a handsome soldier, away from his sweetheart (Olga James). Following a fatal brawl with his sergeant, Joe deserts his regiment with the sultry femme fatale. But Carmen soon tires of him and takes up with a heavyweight prize-fighter (Joe Adams). Triggering Joe's tragic revenge. Helping to set the screen on fire are Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll, part of the "sensational troupe" that makes this jubilant musical film "hard to beat."

Rossini - L'Italiana in Algeri

Carmen Jones

Few actresses have captivated the camera as powerfully as Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones. Her polished beauty plays in irresistible contrast to her title character's leonine sexuality and fluid emotions; a man can't decide from moment to moment if he wants to save her from doom, build her a castle, or never let her out of bed. Of course, that's the problem with the boys in this semi-experimental adaptation of Bizet's opera, Carmen. Straight-arrow Joe (a strapping Harry Belafonte), an obedient corporal on a Southern military base during World War II, is all set to go to flight school and marry his hometown sweetie, Cindy Lou (Olga James), when his troublemaking sergeant orders him to accompany Carmen to a civilian court. In short order, Joe is swept up in Carmen's carnal anarchy and her craving for release from lousy options in life. An impulsive act of violence ensures that Joe's future is gone forever, putting Carmen in the difficult position of destroying their relationship to save him. Oscar Hammerstein II took Bizet's music in 1943 and rewrote the book and lyrics. The result is largely a smashing success with a few missteps (the bullfighter in Bizet's piece becomes a heavyweight boxer here, which breaks up a certain grace in the story) and a couple of perfect stretches (the long prelude to Carmen and Joe's first embrace, set on Carmen's hoodoo-ish home turf). Despite the fact that both Dandridge and Belafonte were singers, their vocal performances were dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne. (Yes, it is a little disconcerting to hear another voice come out of the more familiar Belafonte's mouth.) Otto Preminger directed with his usual eye on economy of action and production, as the numerous musical numbers tend to be shot in lengthy, single, carefully choreographed takes. The result can be a little visually static at times, but the passion behind the singing pulls everything through. --Tom Keogh

Powered by Georges Bizet's grand music and Oscar Hammerstein II's magnificent lyrics this Americanized all-black version of the classic opera Carmen is "a dynamic superb show" with a positively "incandescent Carmen." (Newsweek) Oscar® -nominee Dorothy Dandridge stars in the title role a passionate sexy creature who lures Joe (Harry Belafonte) a handsome soldier away from his sweetheart (Olga James). Following a fatal brawl with his sergeant Joe deserts his regiment with the sultry femme fatale. But Carmen soon tires of him and takes up with a heavyweight prize-fighter (Joe Adams). Triggering Joe's tragic revenge. Helping to set the screen on fire are Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll part of the "sensational troupe" that makes this jubilant musical film "hard to beat."Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: NR UPC: 024543018834 Manufacturer No: 2001883

Carnegie Hall at 100: A Place of Dreams

Sutherland, Horne & Bonynge Gala Concert / Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Richard Bonynge

"... a performance to savour and remember... a night of unfailing beauty" THE AGE
" The two phenomenal voices went on flooding the hall with golden tone." THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

Featuring arias and duets from operas which have been landmarks in the careers of Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne including:
The Tales Of Hoffman, Semiramide, Lakme, Norma

Joan Sutherland
Marilyn Horne
Richard Bonynge

The Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge
Director: John Widdicombe
Sound Producer: David Harvey
Recorded at the Sydney Opera House, 12 June 1985

Johann Strauss - Die Fledermaus / Bonynge, Cox, Ashton, Royal Opera

This is a capable, mildly eccentric, and thoroughly enjoyable production of Johann Strauss's witty, melodious, and charmingly frivolous comedy about elaborate practical jokes, faked identities, long-deliberated revenge, and the power of champagne. The singing is idiomatic, the spirit infectiously jovial, the acting polished and witty. Hard-core lovers of Die Fledermaus in its traditional form may have a few reservations. It is performed in a clever English translation by an English and American cast with a flavor more evocative of London than of Vienna. And the role of the decadent Prince Orlofsky, usually assigned to a female mezzo-soprano in trousers, is taken by a male countertenor, a meaningless gain in realism at the expense of a time-honored tradition that is one of the show's best perennial jokes.

These are small points, but for the treatment of the Fledermaus music, without other considerations, I would pick another Covent Garden video production, the 1984 gala, starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Hermann Prey, and Benjamin Luxon, with Placido Domingo conducting and, in the last act, singing a few notes.

That becomes irrelevant, however, because this production preserves a very special occasion: the 1990 New Year's Eve Gala in which Joan Sutherland made a cameo appearance--her Covent Garden farewell performance--during the party scene. She brought with her two of the outstanding partners in her career, Marilyn Horne and Luciano Pavarotti. All were in very good voice, and they rose to the occasion with some extraordinary singing. Highlights of the hors d'oeuvres include Sutherland's simple, eloquent "Home, Sweet Home," Horne's performance of "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" from Samson et Dalila, and Sutherland and Pavarotti in the heart-breaking duet "Parigi, o cara" from La Traviata. --Joe McLellan

This most effervescent of all Johann Strauss's operettas is a perennial favorite, with its tide of bright, frothy Viennese dance music and charmingly nonsensical plot. In this glittering John Cox production, designed by Julia Trevelyan Oman, the opulence of the Viennese Belle Epoque and the elegant gaiety of the music combine to provide an evening of sparkling Entertainment musical champagne. Judith Howarth, Louis Otey, Jochen Kowalski, Nancy Gustafson; special guest stars Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne; conducted by Richard Bonynge. 196 minutes.

Vivaldi - Orlando furioso / Behr, Horne, Patterson, San Francisco Opera

Antonio Vivaldi was an important opera composer, with at least 47 operas--and perhaps twice that many--to his credit. But he first became known to modern audiences almost exclusively for his instrumental music. This unbalanced view does not mean that his operatic music is inferior to his concertos. It reflects instead economic conditions (opera costs a lot more to produce than instrumental music) and major changes in the tastes of the opera audience during the 19th century and much of the 20th.

Baroque opera has made a comeback in popular taste in recent decades, and this production of Orlando furioso embodies the genre's distinctive qualities: elaborately ornamented da capo arias, the use of high-pitched voices (originally castrati) in heroic roles, and an intricate plot full of implausible relations, misunderstandings, and deceptions among star-crossed lovers. The primary reason for the recording's existence is the spectacular performance of Marilyn Horne in the role of the medieval knight Orlando, legendary nephew of Charlemagne, including a long and technically dazzling mad scene. But the San Francisco Opera has assembled a stellar cast for the sometimes extraordinary demands of the other roles. Particularly impressive are Susan Patterson as Angelica, whom Orlando loves to the point of madness, and Kathleen Kuhlmann as the wicked witch Alcina, but the whole cast performs without significant weakness. Visually, the production captures the fairy-tale quality of the libretto, and conductor Randall Behr has Vivaldi's style, vocal and instrumental, well in hand. --Joe McLellan

Antonio Vivaldi's opera takes place on the sorceress Alcina's enchanted island. Although old and ugly, Alcina has the magical power to make herself appear beautiful and to bewitch courtiers who set foot in her realm. She has tried to make her power eternal by gaining possession of the invincible guard Arontes under the statue of the wizard in the Temple of Infernal Hecate. Brought to the island by fate, the other main characters of the opera, namely the beautiful Angelica, her young Saracen lover, Medoro, and the jealous Orlando--a Christian knight and Charlemagne's nephew, who is in love with Angelica--are entwined in an intriguing love story of furious passion and despair. This San Francisco Opera production of Orlando Furioso boasts a stellar cast, headed by the American mezzo soprano, Marilyn Horne, whose undisputed mastery of the bel canto school of singing makes her one of today's finest performers. 140 minutes.

Orlando: Marilyn Horne
Angelica: Susan Patterson
Alcina: Kathleen Kuhlmann
Bradamante: Sandra Walker
Ruggiero: Jeffrey Gall
Medoro: William Matteuzzi
Astolfo: Kevin Langan
Orchestra and Chorus of the San Francisco Opera, Randall Behr, conductor
Production by Pier Luigi Pizzi; directed for video by Brian Large

Rossini - Semiramide / Conlon, Anderson, Horne, Metropolitan Opera

Bel canto can be translated as "pretty singing," and that definition seems tailor-made for this production, which offers grace, charm, and a fine-tuned sense of style in abundance to compensate for its limited psychological and emotional impact. The four principal singers are all specialists in the bel canto style, and this opera has played a key role in building their substantial reputations. Their singing is more spectacular than their acting, but that is what bel canto is all about. Those who want gut-wrenching situations and passionate emoting should try the verismo style. Meanwhile, for its sweeping musical imagination and technical wizardry, Rossini's epic about royal assassination and misdirected lust in the ancient Babylonian empire deserves a place in any inclusive opera collection, and we are not likely to have a better video Semiramide recording in the foreseeable future.

June Anderson has an attractive appearance and sounds exactly right in the music's florid melodic lines. But she is not dramatically compelling as the wicked queen who had her husband killed and fell in love with a man who turned out to be her long-lost son, Arsace. Marilyn Horne rose to the highest levels of international fame in the role of that conflicted son, and her presence alone would be enough to give this video classic status. Her voice was a bit past its prime when this performance was recorded in 1991, but still there is no other voice quite like it, no other voice so suited to Rossini's heroic mezzo roles. Samuel Ramey is a close bass counterpart to Anderson: great tone, agile florid singing, and a rather wooden but visually appealing stage presence. Sanford Olsen has a small role and sings it almost perfectly. James Conlon gets excellent musical results; John Copley's staging is massive and static. --Joe McLellan

Filmed at New York's Metropolitan Opera, John Copley's production of Rossini's last, longest and most elaborate work for the Italian stage brings together what many consider the definitive contemporary cast, led by Marilyn Horne and June Anderson. Semiramide, a strong and melodious work, is one of Rossini's greatest dramatic operas, offering a fine challenge to the superb contralto and soprano bel canto singing of Ms. Horne and Ms. Anderson. Sanford Olsen, Samuel Ramey, Marilyn Horne, June Anderson. James Conlon conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. 220 minutes.

Opera Highlights, Vol. 1 - Norma, La Gioconda, Il Trovatore, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Forza del Destino, La Cenerentola, L'Elisir d'Amore, Orlando Furioso

Caballé, más allá de la música

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (Dolby Digital 5.1) o German (Dolby Digital 5.1) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1) Synopsis: A musical based on one of the most important voices in history. This film accompanies Monserrat Caballé on a journey through the most important cities, historic performances and audiovisual recordings of her life, including the appearance of people who, through a professional or personal relationship, help us to understand Montserrat the person and Caballé the diva. Special Features: o Biographies o Cast/Crew Interview(s) o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Making Of o Photo Gallery o Scene Access