Semiramide (1990)
In ancient Babylon, SEMIRAMIDE (Anderson) encourages her lover Assur (Ramey) to murder her husband, King Ninus. Her son, Ninius, disappears, believed dead, and Semiramide rules in her own right. 15 years later, as the opera opens, she is about to announce the name of her successor. Idreno (Olsen) and Assur are the leading candidates for the throne and the hand of Princess Azema (Shin), but Semiramide has taken a fancy to young Arsace (Horne), her victorious military leader who has been summoned back to Babylon. Only the high priest Oroe (Cheek) knows that Arsace is actually Ninius, spirited away to safety after the coup. As the queen announces Arsace as her successor, the ghost of her husband appears from his tomb, demanding that Arsace punish the late king’s murderers... Filmed at New York's Metropolitan Opera, John Copley's production of Rossini's last, longest and most elaborate dramatic opera brings together what many consider the definitive contemporary cast.
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I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Semiramide was a relatively new discovery for me, but a fine discovery it was. It is one of Rossini's longest operas and doesn't always have the most believable of all stories. That said, the story is interesting, and the music being Rossini is fantastic, full of colour and his distinctive style.I thought the Met production would be a perfect way to see Semiramide on stage, having heard it on recording initially with Sutherland. And it was excellent! The whole production is kept at a lively pace, beautifully played by the orchestra and stylishly conducted.The costumes are excellent, and the sets are truly lavish. Thanks to the atmospheric lighting, clear picture quality and clever video directing, the colour looks amazing. The chorus are perhaps on the static side in their acting, but the singing is as buoyant and as musical as ever.When it comes to the four leads, two are very good, two are superb. Let me start with the two very good performances. One is Stanford Olsen. Idreno is a rather colourless role, but Olsen sings with style and grace with a voice that doesn't sound laboured, coarse or nasal like some Rossini tenors and his acting is more than stand-and-deliver quality. The other is June Anderson in the title role. She has a great voice and colouratura, she is beautiful and she does show signs of good acting such as in her ghost scene. What stops me from liking Anderson a little more is that she doesn't always convince me as a murderess.Which brings me to the superb performances. Samuel Ramey is one, not only is his voice velvety and rich, but he is very commanding in the role of Assur. His act 2 Mad scene is a tour-De-force. Marilyn Horne for me gives the production's best performance, to me she is one of the best Rossini mezzo sopranos and Arsace is no exception. Hearing Horne, you are expected impeccable passage-work and runs, clarity and beauty in everything she sings. All of these are present here.Overall, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox