Giacomo Meyerbeer - Dinorah, ou le pardon de Ploermel / Philippe, Arapian, Mazzota, Vignon, Opdebeeck, Jourdan, Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne [Collection ''L'Opéra français'']

What does one demand of an opera? First, spectacle, that is, staging that is pleasing to the eye (NO EUROTRASH). This production has it. Costumes? Awesome. Beautiful singing? Ditto. Beautiful performers? Isabelle Phillipe is a stunner, and her Tarentin a chubby version of Tony Curtis. I do not compare recordings. Cook may have been wonderful, but she'd look ridiculous on stage--this is the age when singers have to look as good as they sing.Everybody complains about Arkiv, but they still put out the same minimalist package. At least, they have subtitles. But it pains me not to know the names of the wonderful supporting cast. One thing is to sing "Ombre Leggere" as part of a concert and another to sing it in the context of the whole work. Not romantic, not comic opera: this is firmly entrenched in folklore and legend. I think it is time we thought of a new category: Gothic opera (From Don Juan, Freichutz, Das Vampir,Faust, Mephistophele, all the way to The Turn of the Screw and yes, even Lucia!) So do get it. You are not likely to listen and watch to this neglected masterpiece again in your lifetime.The baritone was also awesome, but his makeup sucked. He looked far too old for Dinorah. And from the ballet in the overture, it is clear both his devilish seducer and him are depicted as Jewish.

The men's music is totally tuneless. The extended Shadow Song (unlike the abbreviated version on anthologies) is glorious. The women's music is pretty. Shallow but interesting plotwise. Repetitious. Well done and beautiful production. If you like this opera (I don't, and Meyerbeer is a hero of mine), then I guess you'll like this DVD. A bit too coy, provincial, pastoral and religious for me. Did not understand the interminable ovation at the end. SOMEbody liked it. I've seen it twice. Had it on Opera Rara but gave it away a long time ago. Had it on DVD (same production) over a year ago and gave that away too. But something drew me back. Ambivalent. Will keep this copy.

I have been an opera fan for as long as I can remember and I know what I like and what I don't. Meyerbeer's music has always managed to touch me and reach deep into my soul. Dinorah especially, and I have been waiting for many years for a production of this wonderful opera to appear on Video/DVD. I have the complete recording made by Opera Rara (1979) with Deborah Cook as Dinorah; Christian du Plessis as Hoël and John Alexander as Corentin. This performance has Isabelle Philippe; Armand Arapian & Frédéric Mazzotta as the protagonists. Whilst they are not up to the caliber for the former cast, they are each in their own special way believable and give strong performances. Dinorah's "Shadow Song", stops the show (as one would expect).Mozzotta's performance is brilliant acting wise and Arapian does make an excellent Hoël. The staging and costumes are exquisite, almost like the original production. I should mention that this is NO modern production, thank God, as I am against the modernization of classical operas.The orchestral playing is first class as is the photography and sound, Dolby 2.0 only.This is the only available production of this most under-performed work and I urge you to purchase it; you will not be disappointed. My only gripe is that Kultur recordings give you nothing in the form of notes or background on any of their productions. So you have to research the piece yourself. All you get is a sheet with the chapters on it, but then I suppose we should be grateful that they actually record these unknown operas for us.

This Meyerbeer opera is delightful, but the only reason I reserve the last star is because for some reason Kultur decided to use a "burned-in" English subtitles (they are the part of the video itself) so you won't be able to turn them off. Very distracting (and the singing is in French, of course). What were they thinking?

This video is beautifully done - wonderful singing, gorgeous settings. Very glad I got it. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because, as other reviewers have pointed out, the singers (other than the leads) are not identified. But the video is well worth the price otherwise.

I had some doubts about this one, but I needn't have. This opera is entertaining, as I assume it was meant to be. It is well performed. Sets and costumes are extremely good, and it's fun to watch and listen to. The sound and picture quality are good. If you like Lakme or like listening to French ballet music of the time, you'll like this

Some parts are excellent but the plot is not wonderful. The aria with the shadow is very nice.

This is a one-of-a-kind opera. You can't dismiss it as kitsch. The opera is of a pastoral genre, and not many of them were so good that they stayed in the opera repertoire [Schubert's Rosamunde never made it]. I have never seen a pastoral opera before, but Meyerbeer supplied an acceptable score. His librettists, Michel Carré and Jules Barbier had often worked together. They also supplied librettos to Ambroise Thomas [Mignon] and Charles Gounod [Faust]. Therefore, Dinorah is a well-balanced opera although on the fairytale and legend side where almost everything is possible.Instead of kings and knights, queens and goddesses, we see hunters and shepardesses, day labourers and field workers on stage. They sing well. Also, goats and sheep dance a kind of ballet. The composer took his work seriously and gave the public a few memorable arias. Particularly the shadow aria which sopranos of rank still sing on their show CDs. I have two interpretations of this aria by Maria Callas; however, the star of the DVD Dinorah production -- Isabelle Philippe -- sings better than Callas.Armand Arapian as Hoel is trying but at times has to smudge through difficult passages. However, he's acceptable. The stage set shows wild nature scenes and is good.This DVD is a KULTUR production and, as usual, lacks a booklet about the opera, composer, and actors. However, KULTUR supplies a page on which the following is printed: Act 1, Chapter 2, Scene 1; Chapter 3, Scene 2; and so on till Chapter 27, Curtain call/Credits. -- Remarkable.If one has an eclectic taste for operas, this opera is a collector item.