Domingo, Netrebko and Villazon: The Berlin Concert: Live From the Waldbühne (2006)*****

Studly young tenor Rolando Villazon joins superstar Anna Netrebko and the legendary Placido Domingo in this rousing concert filmed on a summer night in Berlin. Under the lively direction of young Marco Armiliato, the singers, along with the Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra, perform a wide open program ranging from opera standards to Broadway show tunes.

O mio bambino is dispensed with early in the proceedings, and Netrebko nails it with her characteristic effortlessness. No diva has ever made such difficult singing look more natural and carefree. She pairs with Domingo for an extraordinary duet from Othello; a performance that may have you immediately reaching for the repeat button. Villazon’s solo pieces are well chosen to show off his impressive sonic range and intensity, and he joins his frequent production co-star Netrebko in a version of Tonight from West Side Story that will leave you breathless.

The best is saved for last, as each of the singers return for a solo encore. Particularly impressive is Domingo’s rendering of No puede ser by Sorozabal, in which the veteran tenor proves that he can still tap enormous reserves of dramatic power. In the program’s finale, all three singers return to the stage, champagne glasses in hand, for the second Lehar piece of the evening, the joyously romantic My Heart is Yours, which caused this reviewer to break out in a serious case of goosebumps.

And, according to their ecstatic reaction, so did the 20,000 in attendance. The sound quality of the recording is absolutely first-rate, the only flaw being a couple of brief moments when the singers wander off mike a bit, but that is a minor quibble. Especially striking is the recording of the woodwinds, as the delicate sounds of these instruments cut through with punch and vibrancy. In all, a night of beautiful music in an equally beautiful setting, and a performance no fan of classical singing will want to miss.

Domingo, Netrebko and Villazon: The Berlin Concert: Live From the Waldbühne (2006)*****

Studly young tenor Rolando Villazon joins superstar Anna Netrebko and the legendary Placido Domingo in this rousing concert filmed on a summer night in Berlin. Under the lively direction of young Marco Armiliato, the singers, along with the Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra, perform a wide open program ranging from opera standards to Broadway show tunes.

O mio bambino is dispensed with early in the proceedings, and Netrebko nails it with her characteristic effortlessness. No diva has ever made such difficult singing look more natural and carefree. She pairs with Domingo for an extraordinary duet from Othello; a performance that may have you immediately reaching for the repeat button. Villazon’s solo pieces are well chosen to show off his impressive sonic range and intensity, and he joins his frequent production co-star Netrebko in a version of Tonight from West Side Story that will leave you breathless.

The best is saved for last, as each of the singers return for a solo encore. Particularly impressive is Domingo’s rendering of No puede ser by Sorozabal, in which the veteran tenor proves that he can still tap enormous reserves of dramatic power. In the program’s finale, all three singers return to the stage, champagne glasses in hand, for the second Lehar piece of the evening, the joyously romantic My Heart is Yours, which caused this reviewer to break out in a serious case of goosebumps.

And, according to their ecstatic reaction, so did the 20,000 in attendance. The sound quality of the recording is absolutely first-rate, the only flaw being a couple of brief moments when the singers wander off mike a bit, but that is a minor quibble. Especially striking is the recording of the woodwinds, as the delicate sounds of these instruments cut through with punch and vibrancy. In all, a night of beautiful music in an equally beautiful setting, and a performance no fan of classical singing will want to miss.

Never Fail

Some movie lines are always funny...no matter how many times you see them...

She turned me into a newt!...I got better…

---

I gotta no change…I’ll have ta give ya 9 more books…

---

I think people should mate for life…like swans... or Catholics…

---

I have found that alcohol, taken in sufficient amounts, produces all the effects of drunkenness

---

We want wine! We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here, and we want them now.

---

'cause you people are BASTARD PEOPLE! ... That's what you are!

You're just bastard people!

---

Carl Spackler: Make yourself at home.

Ty Webb: No, I don't want to stick to anything in here.

---

[to waiter] I'll have three fingers of Glenlivet, with a little bit of pepper... and some cheese

What are some of your "never fails"?

Never Fail

Some movie lines are always funny...no matter how many times you see them...

She turned me into a newt!...I got better…

---

I gotta no change…I’ll have ta give ya 9 more books…

---

I think people should mate for life…like swans... or Catholics…

---

I have found that alcohol, taken in sufficient amounts, produces all the effects of drunkenness

---

We want wine! We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here, and we want them now.

---

'cause you people are BASTARD PEOPLE! ... That's what you are!

You're just bastard people!

---

Carl Spackler: Make yourself at home.

Ty Webb: No, I don't want to stick to anything in here.

---

[to waiter] I'll have three fingers of Glenlivet, with a little bit of pepper... and some cheese

What are some of your "never fails"?

Recently Viewed...

Poison Friends (2006)****

Nicely done college drama about a group of young men who fall under the influence of a charismatic senior with a life story a little too good to be true. The film accurately captures the atmospherics and social dynamics of life at an urban university, with an excellent performance by Thibault Vincon as Andre.

---

Broken Rainbow (1985)***

This stylistically dated documentary concerns the outrageous efforts by the US government to move Navajos off their tribal lands in order to create higher profits for the Peabody Coal Company. Worth watching for the bonus material, featuring an update filmed in 2006 showing many of the original subjects still passively resisting the government. Today's audience may take some solace in the fact that the US Senate was also full of corrupt corporate toadies 25 years ago

---

Mademoiselle Chambon (2009)***

I loved this film until I watched the deleted scenes, which showed the original screenplay going down a sleazier road. The final cut of Mademoiselle Chambon is a delicate, in some ways heroic, film about a family man trying awfully hard to do the right thing in the face of powerful temptations. Vincent Lindon is terrific as the beleaguered and confused husband/father in question. Enjoy it for what it is, and don’t watch the deleted scenes…

---

Accomplices (2009)****

Sharp, tight police drama starring Gilbert Melki and Emmanuelle Devos as detectives charged with determining just what happened to a young man whose body was fished out of the river. The stories of the investigation and the original crime are told as intercut, concurrent narratives. Melki and Devos are excellent as they slowly uncover the facts and find chilling parallels to their own lives.

---

The Girl Cut in Two (2007)**

The first half of this film is smart, brisk and engaging, and then it devolves into something like a bad Lifetime TV movie. The script can’t decide if Ludivine Sagnier’s character is a strong, ambitious young woman or a naïve, immature girl. And worse, it doesn’t seem to care. Chabrol was always better at setting up dramatic elements than resolving them, and the ending here is about as hyperbolic as it gets. For devoted Sagnier fans and Chabrol completeists only.

Recently Viewed...

Poison Friends (2006)****

Nicely done college drama about a group of young men who fall under the influence of a charismatic senior with a life story a little too good to be true. The film accurately captures the atmospherics and social dynamics of life at an urban university, with an excellent performance by Thibault Vincon as Andre.

---

Broken Rainbow (1985)***

This stylistically dated documentary concerns the outrageous efforts by the US government to move Navajos off their tribal lands in order to create higher profits for the Peabody Coal Company. Worth watching for the bonus material, featuring an update filmed in 2006 showing many of the original subjects still passively resisting the government. Today's audience may take some solace in the fact that the US Senate was also full of corrupt corporate toadies 25 years ago

---

Mademoiselle Chambon (2009)***

I loved this film until I watched the deleted scenes, which showed the original screenplay going down a sleazier road. The final cut of Mademoiselle Chambon is a delicate, in some ways heroic, film about a family man trying awfully hard to do the right thing in the face of powerful temptations. Vincent Lindon is terrific as the beleaguered and confused husband/father in question. Enjoy it for what it is, and don’t watch the deleted scenes…

---

Accomplices (2009)****

Sharp, tight police drama starring Gilbert Melki and Emmanuelle Devos as detectives charged with determining just what happened to a young man whose body was fished out of the river. The stories of the investigation and the original crime are told as intercut, concurrent narratives. Melki and Devos are excellent as they slowly uncover the facts and find chilling parallels to their own lives.

---

The Girl Cut in Two (2007)**

The first half of this film is smart, brisk and engaging, and then it devolves into something like a bad Lifetime TV movie. The script can’t decide if Ludivine Sagnier’s character is a strong, ambitious young woman or a naïve, immature girl. And worse, it doesn’t seem to care. Chabrol was always better at setting up dramatic elements than resolving them, and the ending here is about as hyperbolic as it gets. For devoted Sagnier fans and Chabrol completeists only.

A Fitting Goodbye to 2010

Don't let the door hit ya.