Ernani

Ernani

Great Performances at the Metropolitan Opera

1983 · 140 min · ★ 10.0

Verdi's early masterpiece is based on a Victor Hugo play with a complicated plot concerning a young woman and the three men vying for her affections—her elderly uncle, a king destined to become Holy Roman Emperor, and a bandit who is actually an overthrown nobleman. Though there is plenty of action arising from the various passions and grudges scattered among these characters, the opera is best appreciated as a feast of beautiful and dramatic Italianate singing. With virtuosic roles for a quartet of principals, the opera delivers one feat of heroic vocalism after another.

Directed by Kirk Browning

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 42m together

Both from Kirk Browning.

More from Kirk BrowningSee all →

The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath · 1991
The Grapes of Wrath
★ 10.01991
MovieDramaTV Movie
Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully. A stage presentation by The Steppenwolf Theater Company's production featuring the original Broadway cast.
The Time of Your LifeThe Time of Your Life · 1976
The Time of Your Life
★ 10.01976
MovieDrama
William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play revolves around the denizens of a San Francisco bar in 1939. Lonely, lovelorn, weary or cynical, the characters drift in and out of the bar and each other's lives, giving voice to Saroyan's philosophies as they randomly comment about the impending world war, the beauty of art, and traditional notions of good and evil. At least one of the relationships stands a chance of enduring: a brawny innocent named Tom is falling in love with a vulnerable young prostitute named Kitty. Saroyan himself is heard reciting the play's prologue.
La Forza del Destino - Metropolitan OperaLa Forza del Destino - Metropolitan Opera · 1984
La Forza del Destino - Metropolitan Opera
★ 9.01984
MovieMusicDrama
Leonora plans to elope with Don Alvaro, but he accidentally shoots and kills her father, who curses them as he dies. The lovers go on the run, but get separated. Bent on revenge, Leonora's brother Don Carlo, hunts them down. Verdi painted an immense canvas with this dark but tuneful opera, vividly brought to life in John Dexter’s production, with sets by the great Eugene Berman. The legendary Leontyne Price is seen in one of her greatest roles, Leonora. Price’s soaring voice encompasses every nuance of Leonora’s emotion as she moves from joy through resignation to ultimate heartbreak. James Levine’s brilliant leading of the Met orchestra and chorus is a lesson in Verdi style. Giuseppe Giacomini is Alvaro, the man Leonora loves, and Leo Nucci is Don Carlo, the dark instrument of their Fate.
Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie HallSondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall · 1992
Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall
★ 9.01992
MovieMusic
This program features the music of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim in a 1992 performance at Carnegie Hall. An American Musical Theatre writer for over 40 years, Stephen Sondheim has created the scores for hits such as Passion, Assassins, Bounce, Into The Woods, Sunday In The Park With George, Merrily We Roll Along, Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures. Featuring: Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close and many more.
June MoonJune Moon · 1974
June Moon
★ 9.01974
MovieComedy
In this rousing satire a native upstate New York clerk comes to 1920s Manhattan with dreams of making in big on Tin Pan Alley.
RigolettoRigoletto · 1977
Rigoletto
★ 9.01977
MovieDramaMusic
A Victor Hugo play, haunting and scandalous, provided the inspiration for Verdi’s mid-career masterpiece. A vengeful but misguided court jester strives to save his daughter from a duke’s licentious clutches, but can't part with the feeling that a curse looms over all of his actions. In Rigoletto, the composer introduces several of his most iconic arias and duets—as well as an 11th-hour quartet that counts among the finest moments in opera.
Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
★ 8.81951
SeriesDrama
Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.
Lucia di Lammermoor - Metropolitan OperaLucia di Lammermoor - Metropolitan Opera · 1982
Lucia di Lammermoor - Metropolitan Opera
★ 8.51982
MovieMusicDrama
This telecast offers a rare opportunity to see the legendary Joan Sutherland in the role that first catapulted her to international stardom. She drove audiences wild by the way her opulent voice caressed the music’s long phrases and sprinted effortlessly through the fiendish runs, trills, embellishments and stratospheric high notes. One of the glories of the operatic world, her portrayal of Donizetti’s hapless heroine is a multifaceted and moving characterization. The incomparable tenor Alfredo Kraus is Edgardo, the man Lucia loves but cannot have. (Performance taped November 13, 1982. Broadcasted September 28, 1983.)
Puccini: Manon LescautPuccini: Manon Lescaut · 1980
Puccini: Manon Lescaut
★ 8.01980
MovieMusicDrama
All the throbbing eroticism—and ultimate heartbreak—of Puccini’s youthful score is unleashed by James Levine and his top-flight cast. Plácido Domingo is Des Grieux, the handsome, headstrong young aristocrat who falls head over heels for the enticing, impetuous Manon Lescaut (Renata Scotto). Manon returns his love, but her obsession with luxury ruins them both. Gian Carlo Menotti’s opulent production, with sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley, superbly captures the colorful world of 18th century France.
The House of Blue LeavesThe House of Blue Leaves · 1987
The House of Blue Leaves
★ 8.01987
MovieComedyDrama
On the day in 1965 that the Pope visits New York and masses of people line the streets in adulation, Artie, a zookeeper living in Sunnyside, Queens, thinks it's time for his life to be blessed, too. He desperately wants to escape his lower middle-class existence and become a popular singer and songwriter, but his life is complicated by an ambitious mistress, a crazy wife and a bomb-making son.
The Royal FamilyThe Royal Family · 1977
The Royal Family
★ 8.01977
MovieDrama
George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber collaborated on this 1927 hit comedy about an eminent and slightly eccentric theatrical clan. A Barrymore-like brood, the Cavendishes are as flamboyant offstage as they are on. Their real-life family drama occurs in a Manhattan apartment when the grand matriarch, Fanny Cavendish, learns that her daughter and granddaughter may both be giving up the stage for marriage. Theatre legends Rosemary Harris, Eva LeGallienne, Sam Levene and Ellis Rabb have great fun portraying characters they know all too well from their years on stage.
Amahl and the Night VisitorsAmahl and the Night Visitors · 1951
Amahl and the Night Visitors
★ 8.01951
MovieMusicDrama
The historic, original, live airing of what would become an annual Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s, this opera tells the story of Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy, and his destitute mother, who provide temporary shelter to three men who are following a star to the newly-born Christ child.
NET PlayhouseNET Playhouse · 1966
NET Playhouse
★ 7.31966
SeriesDramaFamily
NET Playhouse is an American dramatic television anthology series produced by National Educational Television. NET subsequently merged with WNDT Newark, New Jersey to form WNET and was superseded by the Public Broadcasting Service. American television anthology series of wide range of genres, from history and drama, to fantasy, and science fiction. Fiction novels, stories, stage plays, fairytales, and historic events are dramatized in each episode.
Fifth of JulyFifth of July · 1982
Fifth of July
★ 7.01982
MovieDramaTV Movie
Ken Talley, a Vietnam vet who lost his legs in combat, lives in a farmhouse in rural Missouri with his lover, Jed. Traumatized and bitter, Ken struggles to find meaning in his life. As he contemplates selling the farmhouse, old friends and family members descend for a vacation. Originally broadcast as part of the series "American Playhouse" (season 1, episode 9).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Live on StageSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Live on Stage · 1981
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Live on Stage
★ 6.81981
MovieFamily
The classic Disney animated feature is performed as a live stage show at the Radio City Music Hall.
StartimeStartime · 1959
Startime
★ 6.81959
SeriesComedyDrama
Startime, an anthology of drama, comedy and variety, was one of the first American television shows broadcast in color.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter