This is the video version of the CDs I previously reviewed (type Q8682 in Search Reviews). The production is quite handsome. Pier Luigi Pizzi has set the main action on an orange platform that curves up gracefully at both ends; chorus and dancers perform on and around it (Gheorghe Iancu is credited with the busy, frequent choreography). There’s the occasional backdrop of a temple. Although there’s nothing particularly realistic about any of it, the staging works well, giving off just the right exotic aura. The costumes (also by Pizzi) are in shades of saffron and orange, except for Nadir’s–as the outsider, he wears black. My impression of the singing remains the same except that tenor Yasu Nakajima’s musicality comes a bit closer to making up for the dry sound he emits, and the Zurga of Luca Grassi also is more striking when seen. Annick Massis is lovely to look at–there’s a passing resemblance to Callas–and while her acting is not overwhelmingly insightful, it’s as graceful as her singing, which is saying a great deal. As I said, it’s a fine performance, the tenor notwithstanding.
