Now let me explain my thoughts on the movie. First of all, I must admit that it was a gorgeous production. The scenes were definitely rich with color and a good amount dirt where it was required. You really do feel like the artists are living in little hole in the wall apartment. You can also really feel the camaraderie between the poor bohemians Rodolfo, Marcello, Schaunard, and Colline. All the roles were well sung, especially on the parts of Rodolfo, played by the capable Rolando Villazon, and Mimi, sung by opera's very own Russian cover girl Anna Netrebko. I have to admit that they do make a pretty couple on-screen. Sometimes Rolando's eyebrows get a little on the distracting side. They are very large and sometimes take on a life of their own, but it is something I've grown to accept of the many great singers who have that issue. Another strange issue that you run into with movies of operas is the insistence of many directors to include parts where the singers are quite obviously not singing and yet the singing continues in the background. All I know is that one minute Rodolfo and Mimi are singing to each other and the next, they are swinging each other around in the snow and someone is singing and it's not them. I don't mean to pick too much on Rolando, but he is just so ripe for it. His mouth is definitely interesting to watch when he sings. He sometimes loses his lips and it's kinda interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie as a whole and I do recommend it to anyone out there that might be looking for a more in-home introduction to opera. You can watch the trailer for the movie here. I know there was nothing about baritones in this post, but the world won't come to an end......or will it?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Rolando Villazon's Eyebrows
So the other day, my sister and I sat down and watched an opera on DVD. Obviously, this is not the first time that this has happened and isn't the last time, but this one was definitely a different experience. Anyone who has seen the La boheme directed by Robert Dornhelm will understand. It's not often that an opera movie comes along that is high-budget and fully cinematic. That is exactly what Mr. Dornhelm attempted and succeeded at bringing to pass in his very own Boheme. However, this does present a bit of a problem. Operas are often best left on the stage but I guess, if one opera was made for the movies, it would have to Puccini's grand masterpiece.
Now let me explain my thoughts on the movie. First of all, I must admit that it was a gorgeous production. The scenes were definitely rich with color and a good amount dirt where it was required. You really do feel like the artists are living in little hole in the wall apartment. You can also really feel the camaraderie between the poor bohemians Rodolfo, Marcello, Schaunard, and Colline. All the roles were well sung, especially on the parts of Rodolfo, played by the capable Rolando Villazon, and Mimi, sung by opera's very own Russian cover girl Anna Netrebko. I have to admit that they do make a pretty couple on-screen. Sometimes Rolando's eyebrows get a little on the distracting side. They are very large and sometimes take on a life of their own, but it is something I've grown to accept of the many great singers who have that issue. Another strange issue that you run into with movies of operas is the insistence of many directors to include parts where the singers are quite obviously not singing and yet the singing continues in the background. All I know is that one minute Rodolfo and Mimi are singing to each other and the next, they are swinging each other around in the snow and someone is singing and it's not them. I don't mean to pick too much on Rolando, but he is just so ripe for it. His mouth is definitely interesting to watch when he sings. He sometimes loses his lips and it's kinda interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie as a whole and I do recommend it to anyone out there that might be looking for a more in-home introduction to opera. You can watch the trailer for the movie here. I know there was nothing about baritones in this post, but the world won't come to an end......or will it?
Now let me explain my thoughts on the movie. First of all, I must admit that it was a gorgeous production. The scenes were definitely rich with color and a good amount dirt where it was required. You really do feel like the artists are living in little hole in the wall apartment. You can also really feel the camaraderie between the poor bohemians Rodolfo, Marcello, Schaunard, and Colline. All the roles were well sung, especially on the parts of Rodolfo, played by the capable Rolando Villazon, and Mimi, sung by opera's very own Russian cover girl Anna Netrebko. I have to admit that they do make a pretty couple on-screen. Sometimes Rolando's eyebrows get a little on the distracting side. They are very large and sometimes take on a life of their own, but it is something I've grown to accept of the many great singers who have that issue. Another strange issue that you run into with movies of operas is the insistence of many directors to include parts where the singers are quite obviously not singing and yet the singing continues in the background. All I know is that one minute Rodolfo and Mimi are singing to each other and the next, they are swinging each other around in the snow and someone is singing and it's not them. I don't mean to pick too much on Rolando, but he is just so ripe for it. His mouth is definitely interesting to watch when he sings. He sometimes loses his lips and it's kinda interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie as a whole and I do recommend it to anyone out there that might be looking for a more in-home introduction to opera. You can watch the trailer for the movie here. I know there was nothing about baritones in this post, but the world won't come to an end......or will it?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm so glad you wrote about that! I just put it at the top of my queue on my netflix account- I can't wait till it comes in the mail!
ReplyDelete