Jose Cura-Verismo (DVD-Audio) (2001) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Classical	Booklet Interviews-Cast-(DVD-Audio) Discography-(DVD-Audio)
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	56:28
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Wolfram Graul
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	José Cura Philharmonia Orchestra Anne Marie Owens
Case	DVD-Audio Jewel
RPI	$32.95	Music	Various

    Verismo is an Italian word that loosely translates to "realism" or "naturalism". It is also the title of an album of Italian arias sung by Argentine-born tenor José Cura.

    No - the title of the album is not intended to advertise the quality of José's singing, although I am sure Erato and José probably wouldn't mind us making the inference. The word refers to a style of opera that was popularised by a group of Italian composers.

    In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, opera goers broadened from the nobility to the lower middle classes. Pretty soon the more diverse audience began to grow tired of plots about kings and queens and fairy tales and clamoured for more "realistic" storylines that featured the triumphs and tragedies of the common man.

    The word can also be used to suggest a shift from the "impressionist" movement in art and music that preceded these operas.

    This album features a selection of arias from verismo operas by verismo composers, including:

• Rugerro Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
• Alfredo Catalani: Loreley
• Umberto Giordano: Andrea Chénier
• Umberto Giordano: Fedora
• Francesco Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur
• Francesco Cilea: L'arlesiana
• Alberto Franchetti: Germania
• Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana
• Pietro Mascagni: Lodoletta
• Pietro Mascagni: Guiglielmo Ratcliff

    I was surprised that not a single aria from Giacomo Puccini was featured, since he was very much part of the verismo movement. However, given that his first studio album was a collection of Puccini arias, I suppose José wanted to showcase some of the lesser known operas.

    José was born in 1962 in Rosaria, Argentina and moved to Europe in 1991 where he has been based in various places including Verona, the outskirts of Paris and Madrid. He has sung in a number of roles - mainly from the Italian operatic repertoire - in a number of venues around the world. In 1999 José was awarded the distinction of Professor honoris cause at the CAECE University in Buenos Aires and was also made Citizen of Honour by the city of Rosario. In 2000, José was also knighted "Chevalier de l'Ordre du Cedre" by the Lebanese Government (his grandparents originally hailed from Lebanon).

    Besides being a singer, José is also a conductor, and has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia in Warsaw.

    This album features not on José singing but him conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra as well. In Track 11 (Addio alla madre, "Mamma, quel vino") José is joined by mezzo soprano Anne Marie Owens.

    I found this a pleasant enough collection of arias. The orchestra has plenty of "bite" in it, particularly in the first and last tracks. This is a worthy addition to your collection.

Video

    Like most of the Warner DVD-Audio discs released to date, the video content on this disc is in full frame NTSC. We get one photo still per aria that includes the title and composer. The stills are in colour and black & white, and feature either composers, artwork or photos of José Cura.

Audio

    This is an early DVD-Audio release, so there are only two audio tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) on the DVD-Video part of the disc, and MLP 96/24 5.1 on the DVD-Video part of the disc. All arias are sung in Italian.

    This is a rather minimalist surround mix. Most of the music is carried by the front left and right channels. The centre channel is only used as a filler and only the barest of murmurs can be heard from the rear speakers.

    The subwoofer does not appear to be utilized as it switched off about three quarters of the way into the album.

    In general, the sound quality is pleasant, though slightly muffled and not as open or transparent as I would have liked. Dynamics, however, can be quite thrilling, especially on track 1 (Prologo from Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo) and the last track ("Non altro che deliria" from Guglielmo Ratcliff by Pietro Mascagni). The bass seems very slightly on the boomy side, however.

    The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track in comparison is not as captivating or involving as the MLP track, though sonically it is quite similar.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    As with most other DVD-Audio discs, the extras are minimal.

Menu

    Full frame and static.

Booklet

    This is a 24 page booklet that feature black and white stills, credits, track listing, an essay by Giancarlo Landini, mini commentary for each aria, and lyrics for the arias. The back cover contains colour artwork for four other albums by José Cura.

Interviews-Cast-(DVD-Audio) (3:34)

    This is a short set of interview excerpts with José Cura, talking about the verismo arias that he sings on the album. It is presented in full frame and the audio track is Linear PCM 2.0.

Discography-(DVD-Audio)

    This is a single still containing cover art for three other albums released by José Cura.

    This disc appears to be identically featured across all regions.

    Verismo is a collection of Italian arias sung by tenor José Cura who also conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra.

    This is a rather minimalist disc containing only an MLP 5.1 96/24 track on the DVD-Audio section and a Dolby Digital 5.1 track on the DVD-Video section. The audio quality is acceptable though not exemplary.

    Extras include a brief video interview.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall