Verdi: I due Foscari 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Verdi: I due Foscari 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 19, 2019

If you’ve ever wondered about at least one aspect that the variant career paths opera singers and pop singers encounter, here’s a salient example: I am friends with the Music Director for a rather legendary singer who topped the charts throughout the sixties and into the seventies. This singer is almost 80 now, and the Music Director is in the regular habit of transposing some of this artist’s iconic aural oeuvre down at least a step or two to account for an unavoidable range change (if not necessarily diminishment). Opera singers have no such “luck”, in that opera fans would probably be outraged if some Finale or Sibelius expert took an original score and transposed it into a different key to allow an aging singer to perform it. Instead, opera singers like Placido Domingo, who himself is pushing 80, have another choice: “reinvention” in a different vocal section, in this case matriculating downward from tenor to baritone. If Domingo’s best known role in this range is arguably Simon Boccanegra, it’s not the only one, as this production of another one of Verdi’s operas, I Due Foscari, rather ably proves.

A cursory exploration of the always questionable internet(s) seems to suggest that Domingo never essayed the main tenor role in this piece, a character who is in fact one of the “two Foscaris” mentioned in the opera’s title. That role is the younger of the pair, Jacopo, the son of Venice’s “doge” Francesco (Placido Domingo). Jacopo is on trial for murder, and much of the opera details the roiling family dysfunctions as Francesco attempts to balance his roles as leader and father. While things do move toward a kind of tragic conclusion, even some diehard opera fans may find much of I Due Foscari’s libretto pretty overwrought, though structurally from a compositional standpoint it’s one of Verdi’s more interesting pieces.

Verdi: I due Foscari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I Due Foscari is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of C Major and Unitel with a 2160p transfer in 1.78:1. I'm at something of a disadvantage once again with this release, due to the fact that this is another 4K UHD release that does not contain a 1080p Blu-ray as well, and I am therefore unable to really authoritatively give any "compare and contrast" analysis of the differences between the two presentations, for obvious reasons (no screener of the 1080p version of Verdi: I due Foscari was ever sent to me when it was released a couple of years ago). This is also another 4K UHD release of a live opera performance that does not have any form of HDR, and in fact I'd argue that "standard dynamic range" does add to a bit of murkiness at times, in such moments as the ensemble bows, done in front of a curtain with virtually no stage lighting, which makes the group almost impossible to make out. Those issues aside, there is abundant detail on display throughout this presentation, even in some midrange shots, as in the opening tableau which initially seems like a "still life" of a statue, but which turns out to be Domingo next to a statue of a lion. Details on elements like a heavily brocaded backdrop are also very good to excellent. The staging has some interesting production design elements, including first and third acts that really emphasize oranges and yellows. In fact when the palette suddenly changes (rather neatly and organically) to an at least somewhat more "natural" set of tones around the 39:00 minute mark, it's a really interesting looking transformation. The second act looks slightly desaturated by comparison, with an emphasis on cooler grays and blues. There are occasional moments when fine detail falters, as in one sequence which features action behind a scrim, something that tends to understandably mask things.

Verdi: I due Foscari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I Due Foscari features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 mixes in the original Italian, though kind of strangely the disc is authored to default to the stereo track. (There's no Main Menu, either, you have to hit Play, and then Pop Up Menu to get the Audio and Subtitle Submenus.) While I personally wasn't that enthralled with some of the singing, other than Domingo's which sounds gorgeously full bodied and with still a hint of those tenor overtones, the orchestral playing under the baton of Michele Mariotti is often almost furiously energetic. The surround track really nicely recreates the hall acoustics of Teatro alla Scala, and there's appealing width and depth to the track. There are occasional slight balance problems in solos where the massed orchestra forces can tend to overwhelm the singers. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation, and there are no issues with damage, dropouts or distortion.

Verdi: I due Foscari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on the disc. The insert booklet contains a synopsis and some historical background.

Verdi: I due Foscari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've been joking for some time now about the kind of head scratching slate of 4K UHD releases Lionsgate has been offering, but I have to say these opera releases are a close runner up. These niche opera labels should "get with the program" (in my humble opinion, of course) and start packaging 1080p Blu-rays with their 4K UHD discs, and I'd also argue that some form of HDR might help proceedings as well. This is a fitfully engaging production of a kind of dour Verdi opera, but Domingo fans may well want to check it out.