Tuscany[DVD]

A refreshing selection of not often heard tunes.

Andre Rieux's DVD's combine an evening at the symphony with a travel guide experience. Symphony recordings are worthwhile, but the Maestro recreates the festive atmosphere with his own innovations to the classical concert. Because Andre Rieux is intimate and less formal, he makes the time with both audiences special. As conductor, he is accomodating in a European way, balancing well his roles as both host and guest. The warmth flows from the host, to the audience, to the armchair viewer. He is a fine showman and an accomplished musician. We are given close-ups of audience members, orchestra members, and the ambience of the concert, complete with fireworks, et al. The close ups of each section, show how genuinely the orchestra members are enjoying themselves. Audience participation is usually present. In Tuscany the audience is often invited to sing along. Humor is thrown in for good measure as well. The whole show makes all previous classical concert videos seem somber and an admirable test of endurance.He manages to tailor make his selections to match the culture where he visits. This isn't new, but his execution is masterful. In Tuscany, the songs are romantic, of course. "O Mio Babbino Caro," "Strangers in Paradise," and "The Godfather" tell much of the evening's story. In the audience we see young lovers embracing, old lovers embracing, children clapping hands, men in comraderie with arms around each other, and an elderly man crying at the sight and sound of a beautiful woman singing a magnificent aria. The concert is interrupted by a few scenes where the beautiful women are frolicking in the Italian countryside flanked by some ancient building on a scenic, sunny day. These highlights broaden the scope of the viewer's experience.Subjectively, this is his best DVD so far, even though the reviewer has yet to experience all of his recorded concerts. Some wishing for a more upbeat concert would do well to look at "Vienna" or "The Albert Hall Concert". (For the latter, he has people dancing in the aisles!) Whichever recording one chooses, one will end up in some exotic country with a lively concert experience.

A stunning disc: both the visual and audio!This DVD is was produced in 2003 in Cortona in the province of Tuscany, Italy and features Andre Rieu and his orchestra. It is performed at an outdoor stadium with a live audience. The music selection is superb, the costumes sumptuous (see the women in the orchestra) and the musicians are first class. The camera work and editing simply make this DVD a cut above: you see film not only of the musicians but also candid shots of the audience; men, women, children and couples all enraptured by the effects of the extraordinary music they are hearing. There are even some shots of the magnificent countryside that are just stunning.There are many selections that I loved...I'll mention a few_The William Tell Overture, played with zest and pace.-The Italian National Anthem; I never realized this was such beautiful and inspiring work-The Opera Potpourri was dazzling; all the classics, including excerpts from "Rigoletto", "La Traviata", "Carmen", "Aida" and others.Highlight of the disc:The me, the best cut on this disc was Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" (sung exquisitely and with great theatre by Carmen Monarcha). It is said that when Puccini was asked what he want his music to do, he replied " to make people cry". Well, if this quiet, heartfelt masterpiece doesn't make your eyes moist, nothing will; Several of the audiences' certainly were (as were mine).The disc includes some extras, including some material on Andre Rieu himself, and then on the making of this Tuscany DVD (which shows the enormous amount of manpower it takes to assemble and the disassemble one of these shows). There is also a time lapse sequence that gives a rapid viewing of the assembly/disassembly process that is really interesting. However, all these "extras" would not make a great DVD if the music was not truly outstanding.Someone in the audience hold up a sign that says "Musica Bella": and this entire disc really is, Beautiful Music. Highly recommended!

My 6th dvd by Andre. I have to say it would be my favorite except for the fading in and out of the 5.1 soundtrack. The sound was so bad that I actually bought another copy of the dvd from another source to be sure it wasn't my system. It wasn't. I then chose the stereo option from the dvd and selected mains and my subwoofer for playback. The sound is now worthy of a 4.0 rating or so. (It still sounds very good) So many good dvds by this man. Such great music. I will hear him next week in Dallas. I am certainly looking forward to it. This dvd is worth buying. Just be aware the 5.1 is not worth listening to.

Arrivé dans les temps très bon service et dvd excellent très bonne musique

Conosco da pochissimo Andre e la sua orchestra, ho voluto acquistare questo DVD, ero curioso di vedere e sentire l'esibizione di Andre in Italia a Cortona nel 2003.Sotto quel ciglio sornione vi è una professionalità sua e dei musicisti assolutamente rara.Anche la regia non stanca, consiglio di vedere i concerti di Maastricht, sono uno spettacolo per l'anima ed il cuore.Bravissimi!!!

アメリカから直通なので、手元に届くまで少々時間がかかりますが、内容的には大満足です。コンサートもさることながら、コンサート会場設営の画像など、ちょっとお目にかからない内容まで盛り込まれて、いろいろと楽しめます。

Wonderful music

Romantic Paradise [DVD] [Import]と内容は同一。Romantic Paradise がPALであるのに対し、本商品がNTSCであるので、☆２つとした。