Cheap Verdi - Aida / Wanamaker, Price, Pavarotti, San Francisco Opera (DVD) (Brian Large) Price

Price and Pavarotti are in superb voice throughout. Pavarotti sings his initial aria, "Celeste Aida", very much as a showpiece, ignoring Verdi's quadruple pianissimo ending for the very opposite, milking (dare one say it) the audience for a thunderous round of applause, which he duly receives. Initial doubts about his commitment to the drama, however, are dispelled in Act 3 when he denies Amneris his hand and bids farewell to life entombed in the same temple from where he'd once been sent forth as conqueror. Price may not be a natural actress, but her singing throughout, particularly in the concluding farewell with Pavarotti ("O terra, addio"), is very touching. Stefania Toczyska is a compelling Amneris and never more so than when she's offering Radames a lifeline at the start of the last act. Brian Large's direction for video homes in on the salient points of the drama and also picks up on an uncomfortable looking extra or two in the "Grand March" where space on stage seems at a premium. With assured conducting from Garcia Navarro, this Aida is a very desirable acquisition. --Adrian Edwards