Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 9, 2013

La Battaglia di Legnano is one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most unusual operas in that it’s based on rather arcane historical events. In the late twelfth century the so-called Lombard League of northern Italian provinces was formed to fight what was seen as the undue influence of the Holy Roman Empire to the south. In Verdi’s formulation, the actual enemy is perhaps more properly the German Emperor, but who’s counting (so to speak)? The bottom line in this piece is we have a brigade of freedom fighters who are out to protect their land from the hoity toity ruling class. Think Les Misérables with a decidedly Italian accent. The good news is that La Battaglia di Legnano deserves more widespread recognition than it typically does in Verdi’s massive oeuvre. The bad news is this production may not be the one to achieve it, for it has a rather muddled conceit that some may find more confusing than the actual libretto, which is plenty obscure to begin with.

The historical nature of the piece would seem to be taking place in some sort of art warehouse, which at least gives the stage some visual interest even if it doesn’t actually make a whole lot of sense. I usually lash out at directors whom I consider guilty of so called “Eurotrash” reimaginings of vaunted works, but there’s a difference here. This might even be called a “Euroculture” reimagining, but it’s no less cumbersome. If you can get past the director’s “vision” (some might argue hallucination), there are some passing pleasures to be had here, including Dimitra Theodossiou as Lida. Theodossiou frankly struggles a bit now and again, especially in her upper range, but overall she commands the stage and gives this production a vital shot of much needed dramatic energy.

Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

La Battaglia di Legnano is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of C Major and Unitel Classica with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Rather surprisingly, this fairly recent (March 2012) production offers a pretty soft looking high definition presentation which really only pops satisfactorily in close-ups. Colors are somewhat muted (intentionally), but the physical production is rather handsome and comes through fairly well. There are some problems with shadow detail toward the wings and far upstage where the lighting is less aggressive.

Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

La Battaglia di Legnano features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix as well as an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down, both in the original Italian. Everything sounds very good throughout this opera, with the exception of some minor vocal issues on the part of some cast members. The orchestra plays with precision and integrity, and there's overall excellent balance between them and the soloists.

Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction to La Battaglia di Legnano (1080i; 11:02) continues this series' tradition of giving background on the opera as well as a synopsis. This opera held a special place in Verdi's heart since it dramatized a Milanese revolution.

Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

La Battaglia di Legnano has a unique place in the Verdi canon, but this production is just flat out confusing at times. True Verdi aficionados may well want to check it out in any case, since this opera is only very rarely performed.