Rossini - La donna del lago / Werner Herzog · Riccardo Muti · June Anderson · Teatro alla Scala
La Donna del Lago, based on Sir Walter Scott's long narrative  poem "The Lady of the Lake" about military conflicts and lovers'  problems in feudal Scotland, is one of Rossini's best operas. It is not  performed as often as it deserves, and this video production (not  problem-free) may be the only one available for quite a while.  Fans of Rossini will find it worth playing. Like most opera  videos, it was recorded in a live performance, including  audience applause in which viewers may or may not wish to join.  Live recordings can have a spontaneity not always heard in studio  work, but small vocal problems--particularly near the beginning  when voices are warming up--go uncorrected. The singing often  needs to be spectacular, and it usually is once the solo voices have  settled down, but you have to make a few allowances. In many  scenes, the lighting is quite dim, but the chorus and orchestra  are splendid.--Joe McLellan