Giulio Neri Movies
- 1955
Told in pageantlike fashion, Casa Ricordi is the story of the Ricordi family, the most prestigious music publishers in all Italy. It was the Ricordis who, for better or worse, came up with the "royalty" concept, paying artists (and their families) for their work in perpetuity. As the family's fortune grows, the Ricordis rub shoulders with the musical glitterati of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Verdi, Donizetti, Puccini, Bellini and Rossini. Naturally, this allows the film to showcase some of these composers' most famous works--and in true Hollywood-by-the-Mediterranean fashion, the principal influence for these compositions are the various members of the Ricordi family. The soundtrack of Casa Ricordi reverberates with the voices of such musical immortals as Tito Gobbi, Renata Tibaldi, Mario Del Monaco and Gianni Poggi, among many others. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miriam Bru, Elisa Cegani, (more)
Sophia Loren, complete with blackface and an Afro, came to international acclaim in this fairly literal version of the Giuseppe Verdi opera. Loren (with singing dubbed by Renata Tebaldi) portrays the title character, an Ethiopian slave owned by Amneris (Lois Maxwell), the daughter of the Egyptian king. Aida's romantic heart is her weakness, as she must choose between loyalty to her conquered race and romance with Radames (Luciano della Marra), an officer of the Egyptian army. Director Clemente Fracassi gets a bit carried away with epic splendor and the opulent color format, but fans of Loren and opera novices should find the film rewarding. Despite Loren's lauded performance, the role of Aida was originally intended for Gina Lollobrigida. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Lois Maxwell, (more)
- 1949
Sweet revenge turns horribly sour in Verdi's tragic opera Rigoletto. This Italian film version of the Verdi classic was lensed at the Royal Opera House of Rome. As a result, it isn't very cinematic, though the singing cannot be faulted. The great Tito Gobbi stars as Rigoletto, the hunchbacked jester whose desire to wreak vengeance on the Duke of Mantua (Mario Fillepeschi) results in dire consequence for the jester's beloved daughter Gilda. The last-named role is acted by Marcella Govoni and sung by Lina Pagliughi; the lip-synching doesn't always match, except during the evenly paced "Caro Nome". Incredibly, this grim tale of revenge, rape and murder used to be listed as a "comic opera" in the TV listings of the Chicago Tribune, moving one reader to respond that "for real laughs, why not try Aida, where the lovers are buried alive?" ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tito Gobbi
