La Traviata at La Scala
by Liliana Cavani
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Angela Gheorghiu, Lorin Maazel, Ramon Vargas, Roberto FrontaliDirector: Liliana Cavani
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); Italian (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-09-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Arthaus Musik
Movie Reviews of La Traviata at La Scala
Movie Review: Prima Donna Assoluta?
Summary: 4 Stars
Four and 1/2 stars actually, if Amazon provided that option. The sets, costumes, conducting, and singing of Vargas and Frontali are as fine as the other commentators here have claimed them to be. I draw the line, though, at the raving over Gheorghiu. It's unusual ever to hear the role of Violetta sung anywhere near close to perfection, and one doesn't experience it, sorry to say, in Gheorghiu's performance. The role calls for a prima donna assoluta, and what may have been intended by this designation was that great rarity, a singer who combined the coloratura skills demanded in Act I with the large, warm body of tone called for in Acts II and III. The role calls, that is, for a Galli-Curci coupled with a Tebaldi. It is in the demands of Act I that Gheorghiu falls way short of ideal. Nobody, I believe, would seriously argue that her "Sempre Libera" in this performance is one of extraordinary brilliance. Though the emotional scene preceding it is convincing, the aria itself is marred by coloratura passages more gulped or yelped than beautifully or memorably sung. One can argue that the aria's concluding top note is only an option, but it doesn't follow that its absence is therefore not a disappointment, since it provides a perfect climax to the escalating, feverish energy coming just before it. It's been mentioned that Gheorghiu looks immodestly self-satisfied in the curtain calls after Act I. Unfortunately, I think there was at this point much for her to be modest about.
Happily, Gheorghiu does come into her own in Acts II and III, but her total performance, I'd argue, is not one for the history books. If hers is the best Violetta currently on DVD, so much the worse for the other recorded contemporary portrayers of the role.
Summary of La Traviata at La Scala
This 2007 production of Verdi's La Traviata from Milan's La Scala, with world-class singers and Lorin Maazel on the podium belongs among the best of the many fine DVD versions available. Its prime draw is soprano Angela Gheorghiu, whose 1994 Covent Garden assumption of the role of Violetta catapulted her to stardom. She doesn't quite match the emotional power and vocal beauties of that performance but Gheorghiu does give us an intensely drawn portrait of the role and her voice remains in fine shape. Her acting has always been extraordinary and at La Scala she fully encompasses the doomed heroine; the last Act deeply touching. Her Alfredo Germont is Ramon Vargas, whose beautiful tenor voice and sensitive singing please the ear with sweet tones and individual phrasing that bring Verdi's lines to life. Roberto Frontali as Alfredo's father, the elder Germont, exhibits an imposing baritone voice, shading it beautifully in the scene where he convinces Violetta to give up his son. Frontali also shows commanding stage presence in the scene where he upbraids Alfredo for his ungentlemanly behavior. Supporting roles are well taken and the La Scala orchestra's contributions are positive, with some fine wind solos. Maazel paces the opera well and conjures beautifully shaped Preludes to Acts One and Three, which embody some of Verdi's loveliest string music. The staging is traditional in Liliana Cavani's production, originally mounted in 1990 but still looking fine, albeit with some bits of superfluous stage business for the principles to occupy the eye and distract the ear. Dante Ferretti's lavish set designs are fitting, although one can question the presence of a bed and a billiard table in the drawing room of Violetta's country house. Gabriella Pescucci's costumes are suitable, but some of the military officers in the banquet scenes appear to be clad in doorman's uniforms. Paola Longobardo's video direction is excellent: No extraneous camera movements to draw attention away from the stage and close-ups of the singers are usually head-and-shoulders shots well framed with ample space to keep the singers in context. Cuts within an aria are excellently timed as well, on the beat or at a point of mood change. Despite heavy competition from Gheorghiu's Covent Garden DVD, Renee Fleming's San Francisco Traviata, and the often weirdly modernistic Salzburg production with Netrebko and Villazon, this fine La Scala DVD is a serious contender. --Dan DavisLa Traviata is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Sung in Italian, subtitles include English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
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