Picture Fomat: 4:3; NTSC.
Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Total Time: 174 min
Menu Languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Subtitle Languages: English, German, French, Spanish

Pier Luigi Pizzi's compelling and stylish staging of Tancredi brings together some of today's foremost bel canto performers.

R E V I E W S

"Pizzi has never before achieved such deep, spontaneous emotional effect. The supreme elegance of his neo-classical sets, dense with pictorial allusion, was constantly brought to life by the vibrant singing and committed acting of young singers who showed a perfect assimilation of Rossini style yet never flaunted their vocal accomplishment for its own sake … Gianluigi Gelmetti conducted with infinite sensitivity" -- Opera News

Fanfare Magazine
The performance operates on a high level musically. After a rough opening to the overture, the Stuttgart Radio players settle in to give solid support, and the small chorus performs well. Gelmetti conducts a lively performance, but one that is sensitive to the needs of the singers. The recitatives have been pruned in places, and the role of Isaura shortened slightly. While this does no real damage to the opera, it would also seem to be unnecessary. The cast includes some noted Rossini singers. Raul Gimenez takes the role of Amenaide’s father, coping with all of Rossini’s demands easily (including repeated high Ds) and with a fullness of tone not often heard from tenors in this repertoire. Maria Bayo in the role of Amenaide sings effortlessly and with a beautiful, if small, voice. The coloratura demands do not faze her, and she is a good actress. Next to these singers, Bernadette Manca di Nissa (in the title role) sounds slightly cautious, albeit with a dignified stage presence and an attractive voice. She sings accurately, but does not have the trumpeting chest tones and penetrating high notes of either Horne or Podle?. Some may find that a blessing.

The video quality is clear, and the stereo sound is well balanced. The 76 index points make finding individual musical numbers easy—would that all DVD opera recordings were this well indexed....Rossini composed a tragic ending for the city of Ferrara. It is that ending which is heard here, although, when the conductor comes on stage during the curtain calls, he silences the applause to announce that Rossini’s alternate happy ending will be performed. Remarkably, the once-dead Tancredi comes back to life to be united with his beloved! The rather good notes are in English, French, and German, but in a size guaranteed to induce eyestrain.

Paul F. Rice, FANFARE