Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore (Blu-ray/Opus Arte/BBC)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: C+     Main Program: B

 

 

Of the many fine Classical/Opera titles Opus Arte has issued from the BBC, my favorite so far has been the recent Elijah Moshinsky/Brian Large production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore (2002) just has a flow and certain well-roundedness that gives it an edge over similar productions and now it is on Blu-ray.  Previously reviewed on HD-DVD, this catch-up Blu-ray edition is virtually similar to the previous hi-def version except for the audio codec used.  You can read all about it and other great releases in the series at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6853/Cecilia+&+Bryn+At+Glyndebourne

 

 

The 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is the same, with softness, but also decent color for such a taping.  The previous HD-DVDs offered Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and slightly less impressive Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Stereo, but the new Blu-ray version replaces that with PCM 16/48 5.1 and 2.0 mixes and they sound virtually the same, which is just fine and plays very nicely.  The extras are the same and this is now on my list for favorite music Blu-ray programming.  We’ll see what Opus Arte comes up with next.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo