Rachele Stanisci

Francessco Demuro

Alberto Gazale

Salvatore Cammarano

Luisa Miller

Luisa Miller is not one of my favourite Verdis. This in mind, in spite of its sometimes staid plot, it is very tuneful, has an intensely moving final scene and thematically with the political, religious and social conflicts of the time it is very interesting. This production from 2007 is a very solid one. Is it my first choice of the few DVDs of the opera I&apos;ve seen? No, and I wasn&apos;t expecting it to be. I will say though that my first choice will always be the 1979 Met production with Scotto, Domingo, Milnes, Giaiotti, Morris and Kraft. There is much to like about this production.

Visually, it looks good. There may be a couple of scenes that are too darkly lit, such as the Act 1 Scene 2 duet between Rodolfo and Federica, but the costumes are tailored beautifully. I liked with the mix of peasantry and aristocracy clothing how you could see a difference between classes. And the sets are simple and serve their purpose well, not as beautiful as the 1979 production but thankfully not as barren as 2006&apos;s. Musically, there are few complaints. The orchestra play stylishly and elegantly, while the conducting has enough energy and command to convince.

From a technical point of view it is fine also. The picture quality is good, not too grainy or over-saturated, while the sound is clear. The stage direction is nothing showy and while various scenes such as the final scene make their mark not quite my definition of thrilling either. That said, it is never dull and it doesn&apos;t resort to bad taste either, when it comes to opera productions if you succeed in not making the production any of those scenes it is a job well done.

Rachele Stanisci heads a cast of singers I am personally largely unfamiliar with. And it is a cast who perform efficiently and with a high standard of singing. Nobody is definitive in these roles, then again I wasn&apos;t expecting them to be and I don&apos;t think they tried to be either. Stanisci is lovely as Luisa. Her voice is bright and flexible, yet does well with the more dramatic moments also. And her acting is charming and heart-breaking when it needs to be. Francessco Demuro is a promising young tenor. In the role of Rodolfo, you can see that, at least in my opinion anyway. His voice is maybe a little too lyric for the role, but he sings with a mostly effortless and unstrained voice, getting better and better as each scene goes. His diction is suitably crisp and he has good musicality. While not embodying the role, he has a nice personality and is suitably forceful when needed.

Alberto Gazale and Antonio De Gobbi are in the father figure roles. Gazale&apos;s Miller is excellent, with a strong voice that gets through Sacra La Scelta...Ah Fu Giusto swiftly with no real major blips. His acting is suitably firm and sincere, and you do get the sense that he cares for his daughter, you only have to see him in Act 3 to see that. As Count Di Walter, De Gobbi boasts a rich and not too woolly basic basso sound, and like the role should do he oozes with authority commanding the stage with ease from the moment you first meet him.

Taihwan Park is perhaps my least favourite of the Wurms on DVD, but that is not to discredit him in any way. When I say that, that is because the other Wurms were so good. Park is suitably insidious in a role that, as I said in my review for the 2006 production, is perhaps early Verdi&apos;s answer to Otello&apos;s Iago. I perhaps would have preferred a darker voice, but there is enough menace in Park&apos;s vocal production to make him sound at least convincing. Not but not least Sarah Maria Punga. Now this is a mezzo-soprano to watch. Every bit the aristocrat, Punga has one of the most powerful and unforced mezzo voices I&apos;ve heard in a long time, I just wish Federica had more music to sing.

Overall, very solid, not my favourite but one I&apos;d see again gladly. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Luisa Miller is not one of my favourite Verdis. This in mind, in spite of its sometimes staid plot, it is very tuneful, has an intensely moving final scene and thematically with the political, religious and social conflicts of the time it is very interesting. This production from 2007 is a very solid one. Is it my first choice of the few DVDs of the opera I've seen? No, and I wasn't expecting it to be. I will say though that my first choice will always be the 1979 Met production with Scotto, Domingo, Milnes, Giaiotti, Morris and Kraft. There is much to like about this production.

Visually, it looks good. There may be a couple of scenes that are too darkly lit, such as the Act 1 Scene 2 duet between Rodolfo and Federica, but the costumes are tailored beautifully. I liked with the mix of peasantry and aristocracy clothing how you could see a difference between classes. And the sets are simple and serve their purpose well, not as beautiful as the 1979 production but thankfully not as barren as 2006's. Musically, there are few complaints. The orchestra play stylishly and elegantly, while the conducting has enough energy and command to convince.

From a technical point of view it is fine also. The picture quality is good, not too grainy or over-saturated, while the sound is clear. The stage direction is nothing showy and while various scenes such as the final scene make their mark not quite my definition of thrilling either. That said, it is never dull and it doesn't resort to bad taste either, when it comes to opera productions if you succeed in not making the production any of those scenes it is a job well done.

Rachele Stanisci heads a cast of singers I am personally largely unfamiliar with. And it is a cast who perform efficiently and with a high standard of singing. Nobody is definitive in these roles, then again I wasn't expecting them to be and I don't think they tried to be either. Stanisci is lovely as Luisa. Her voice is bright and flexible, yet does well with the more dramatic moments also. And her acting is charming and heart-breaking when it needs to be. Francessco Demuro is a promising young tenor. In the role of Rodolfo, you can see that, at least in my opinion anyway. His voice is maybe a little too lyric for the role, but he sings with a mostly effortless and unstrained voice, getting better and better as each scene goes. His diction is suitably crisp and he has good musicality. While not embodying the role, he has a nice personality and is suitably forceful when needed.

Alberto Gazale and Antonio De Gobbi are in the father figure roles. Gazale's Miller is excellent, with a strong voice that gets through Sacra La Scelta...Ah Fu Giusto swiftly with no real major blips. His acting is suitably firm and sincere, and you do get the sense that he cares for his daughter, you only have to see him in Act 3 to see that. As Count Di Walter, De Gobbi boasts a rich and not too woolly basic basso sound, and like the role should do he oozes with authority commanding the stage with ease from the moment you first meet him.

Taihwan Park is perhaps my least favourite of the Wurms on DVD, but that is not to discredit him in any way. When I say that, that is because the other Wurms were so good. Park is suitably insidious in a role that, as I said in my review for the 2006 production, is perhaps early Verdi's answer to Otello's Iago. I perhaps would have preferred a darker voice, but there is enough menace in Park's vocal production to make him sound at least convincing. Not but not least Sarah Maria Punga. Now this is a mezzo-soprano to watch. Every bit the aristocrat, Punga has one of the most powerful and unforced mezzo voices I've heard in a long time, I just wish Federica had more music to sing.

Overall, very solid, not my favourite but one I'd see again gladly. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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