Patrick Conrad

Jack Mosley, a burnt-out detective, is assigned the unenviable task of transporting a fast-talking convict from jail to a courthouse 16 blocks away. However, along the way he learns that the man is supposed to testify against Mosley's colleagues, and the entire NYPD wants him dead.

Having been a fan of Le Comte d’Ory for a while, I was delighted to get the latest version available on media. This one from Zurich and on Blu-Ray. And does not disappoint. Bartoli once again in her career takes on a difficult soprano role very successfully. Camarena is new to me, and was pleased with both his acting and singing. Niketeanu did a great job as Ragonde and Olvera, again new to me, did a beautiful singing and acting job a Isolier. The weakest part was sung by Widmer as Rambaud, but then I was never a Widmer fan. All in all a very satisfying experience.
Now, which one do I recommend? The first video recording from Glyndebourne from 1997 is, in my humble opinion the best of the three available. The three principals are superb, especially Laho and Montague, and the production is probably more like what the people saw at the premier. The Met version is also good, but lacks in acting. By Conrad Perl

Classics Illustrated were comic book adaptations from classic literature, a series that Russian-born Albert Lewis Kanter (1897-1973) began in 1941 for Elliot Publishing. Introduced under the heading Classic Comics, the series started October, 1941, with a 64-page adaptation of Alexandre Dumas‘ , followed by and . With the fourth issue, The Last of the Mohicans, Kanter began his own Gilberton Publications. The first 12 issues had 64 pages, but wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce each issue to 56 pages. In 1947, after the first 34 issues, Kanter changed the title from Classic Comics to Classics Illustrated, a logo with a high visibility over the next 15 years because Kanter, unlike other comic book publishers, kept his titles in print, going back to press with occasional reprintings. --