La Traviata Comp

 

 

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I have a similar experience as the reviewer below. La Traviata is one of Verdi's most famous and successful opera. But curiously, I have never been able to really appreciate Traviata on record (I have yet to see it 'live' at the opera house). Even after listening to the opera many times, I still found it mystical that La Traviata should be so famous. I prefer Verdi's Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Aida, Don Carlos ....

As many reviewers have noted (not only here but elsewhere), Sutherland is vocally spectacular. What a voice she had!!! I own many of her recordings and am always flabbergasted by her coloratura skills and her trills and spectacular high notes and breath control. But ohhhhhh ... in the slower passages especially, it is sometimes so painful - she has a beautiful voice but she moons a lot and there's no or little drama. What a pity she never pushed herself but I suppose that explains her vocal longevity. Callas is the other famous Violetta. Yes, Callas is very famous. It's Callas this and Callas that. Callas is best at this and best at that - Tosca, Turandot, Norma, Violetta. But oh... her best recordings are in mono!! Then of course, there is Cotrubas in Kleiber's recording in excellent stereo. So what's wrong with that one? I don't really know. I think it may have to do with the fact that it's too hard driven - Kleiber drives the party music very hard and he's rather mechanical and rigid. And the recording sounds rather harsh. Perhaps it is the conducting, perhaps it is the sounds engineers and the recording. Whatever the reason (which I can't quite pinpoint), that recording also never clicked for some reason even though I tried hearing it over and over again many times.

So, like the reviewer below, I never really enjoyed this opera...until I heard Solti's recording!! What makes Solti's special? I think it is a confluence of many factors. First of all, the Decca digital sound is absolutely gorgeous and beautifully balanced. Voices and orchestra are all clear - not too close, not too far. The sound itself ravishes the senses. But sound alone is insufficient. Solti's conducting is also fantastic, helped by the superb playing of the orchestra. The orchestra is ravishing and tender where needed - listen to the opening of Act 1 and Act 3. Where needed, the orchestra is light, fast and deft - listen to the party music - it is light, fun and skips along with a lot of joy. At the climaxes, there is that "BANG!" that is superbly judged - not too bombastic, not too reticent. Then of course, there is Gheorghiu herself. her voice is not as beautiful as some people make it out to be. It DEFINITELY IS beautiful. But not in the class of say, Renee Fleming or even Karita Mattila both of whom I think have more beautiful voices than Gheorghiu in this Traviata. Nevertheless, Gheorghiu's voice IS VERY BEAUTIFUL and makes you want to listen to her again and again. Her coloratura is not perfect either. Cotrubas has better coloratura. But whatever, Gheorghiu is still superb and her vocal acting is so good that you just overlook her faults. Frank Lopardo is the other magnificent singer. I actually prefer Lopardo to Domingo in Kleiber's recording. Maybe it has to do with the recording rather than the singer. But I actually find Lopardo's singing more magnetic - more passionate and more memorable. Nucci is excellent as Germont. Not voiceless as some mean guy has said. Added to this is the fact that this is a live recording with all the 'live' atmosphere that is so hard to define. The record is, how should I say, "living"?

The end result is that the sum adds up to much more than its parts. Golden age of singing over? No!!!! Perhaps there is a lack of successor to Nilsson and Sutherland. But otherwise, there are still lots of outstanding opera singers around. Only narrow minded people who are not willing to accept the varying interpretations of singers would live in a world in which the golden age of singing is over. For people like me, there are still lots of singers around who can rival opera singers of yesteryears.

Conclusion: My personal judgement is that this is the best La Traviata around on the market and I strongly recommend it to anyone as a first choice or as a sole representation of the work in your collection.

I was so amazed when I first listened to this recording that I decided to buy the DVD, too. Surely it's one of the best recording that have been released in the last years and I doubt you can find a better digital version of La Traviata. If you don't care too much for the sound, we can find even greater advantages in listening to this recording: it was this live performance that led Angela Gheorghiu to the international operatic world, and here she's aided by a great cast under the direction of one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Sir Georg Solti.
Frank Lopardo is in very good shape. His voice is sometimes a bit nasal, but he has a quite big and dramatic voice as well as an excellent vocal technique. Besides, Lopardo's interpretation of Alfredo is convincing and involving: he's one of the few tenors that can sing this role while truly interpreting it. Thus, we have a much more than acceptable Alfredo. Leo Nucci is here a few years past his prime, but he's in real good voice, though in the higher parts his voice tends to have a little more vibrato than we're used to. He also delivers a mature characterization of Giorgio Germont. The minor parts are sung by equally good singers, so that we have a very balanced recording of La Traviata.
The real star of this La Traviata is the young Angela Gheorghiu. She's not a simple good soprano of our days, but surely she will be praised in the future as one of the greatest artists of our time. Her voice is rich, creamy and expressive, along with her remarkable pianissimi, vocal colours and melifluous tone. She has the right vocal technique to sing effortlessly the difficult aria "Sempre libera" (please don't expect to hear a new Sutherland!!). I really don't care if Gheorghiu doesn't fit the high E flat in the end of that aria, since Violetta is a much more complex role. What really matters is her expressiveness, the sense of drama. Gheorghiu is the best actress in the operatic scenery nowadays and a very creative artist. Her Violetta is the most dramatic and deeply involved since Maria Callas almost fifty years ago!
Sir Georg Solti was then conducting La Traviata for the first time, but we feel like he has conducted it all his life. His conducting is mature and passionated. It really seems that Solti got to understand what Verdi intended when he composed this music.
A popular opera like La Traviata has so many legendary recordings that it's almost impossible to declare what are the definitive one. So, I prefer to talk about the definitive ones, and it's certainly one of thoses, because it represents an important moment of the opera world: the rising of one of the greatest sopranos of our days and the first and probably last time one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century conducted La Traviata.
Buy this thrilling recording and enjoy one of the most moving operas ever composed!

Solti is amazing in this recording. Gheorghiu is the most moving Violetta I have heard. Highly recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best opera recordings ever
To me, this is one of the best opera recordings ever made. I rank it together with Klemperer's EMI Fidelio, also one of the best recordings ever made.

Published on April 19 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars The good - it's true
I came late to this Traviata but I can see what the hype is all about. You should just buy this set. It really is very good!!

Published on Jan 29 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Oooops!!
I bought this set to see what the hoo-hah was all about. I end up buying all of Gheorghiu's disc. Gheorghiu has one thing in common with echt-German mezzo soprano Christa Ludwig -... Read more

Published on Jan 12 2004 by malariehathawaye

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnetized!!
From the opening of the overture, I was completely magnetized from start to finish!! This is rare among opera recordings. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2004 by druidsegal

5.0 out of 5 stars LAAAAAAAAAAAAAA TRAVIATA!!!
Laaaaaaaaaaa Traviata!! Verdi's glorious masterpiece given a glorious realization here. Gheorghiu is nothing short of stunning. Read more

Published on Dec 22 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great La Traviata
This La Traviata is destined to become a "Great Recordings of the Century" in time to come. Read more

Published on Dec 13 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars One more thing
It is true though that there's no Birgit Nilsson today. Jane Eaglen comes closest but she needs to take better care of her voice!!!

Published on Dec 8 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Age of Singing Over?
Emphatically not!!!

In THOSE days, there were lots and lots of articles saying THEN that there were no more singers THEN. Read more

Published on Dec 8 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb conducting
It seems fashionable for people to bash up Solti's conducting. To say that the conducting here is slow is ridiculous!! Read more

Published on Dec 6 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!!
I absolutely disagree with detractors. This Traviata is stunning!! I owned the Kleiber for a long time. But listening to this, I realized what the Kleiber lacks - warmth. Read more

Published on Nov 30 2003

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