Donizetti La Favorite opera to a libretto by Alphonse Royer, Gustave Vaëz, and Eugène Scribe. Directed by Ariel García-Valdés with co-director Derek Gimpel at the Gran Teatre del Liceu di Barcellona. Stars Veronica Simeoni (Léonor de Guzman), Celso Albelo (Fernand), Mattia Olivieri (Alphonse XI, King of Castile), Ugo Guagliardo (Balthazar), Manuel Amati (Don Gaspar), Francesca Longari (Inès), Leonardo Sgroi (Un Seigneur), and extras Paolo Arcangeli, Cristiano Colangelo, Domenico Nuovo, and Pierangelo Prziosa. Fabio Luisi conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Chorus Master Lorenzo Fratini). Set and costume design by Jean-Pierre Vergier; lighting design by Dominique Borrini. Directed for TV by Matteo Ricchetti. Sound recorded by Rino Trasi. Sung in Italian. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Mark Pullinger, writing in the 2018 October Gramophone at page 90, reports a skimpy set and cheap-looking costumes while applauding the work of Fabio Luisi. Pullinger prefers earlier HDVDs of La Favorite, namely: the Allemandi reading from Opus Arte and the Chichon from DG.
Here's the official trailer:
