Verdi - La Traviata / Levine, Stratas, Domingo
by Franco Zeffirelli
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Allan Monk, Axelle Gall, Cornell MacNeil, Plácido Domingo, Teresa StratasDirector: Franco Zeffirelli
Cinematographer: Ennio Guarnieri
Writer: Franco Zeffirelli
Editor: Franca Silvi
Producer: Carlo Lastricati
Producer: Tarak Ben Ammar
Writer: Alexandre Dumas fils
Writer: Francesco Maria Piave
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-04-13
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Verdi - La Traviata / Levine, Stratas, Domingo
Movie Review: The Supreme La Traviata: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
This is without a doubt the greatest version of La Traviata ever produced.On DVD, it's unbelievably gorgeous and features production notes and cast bios as well as a trailer. The forces behind this masterpiece are responsible for its greatness- Italian director and designer Franco Zefferelli, tenor Placido Domingo, soprano Teresa Stratas and baritone Cornell McNeil. The singers are at the top of their game, Domingo is a young, sexy Alfredo and Teresa Stratas IS Violetta Valery in a performance that even Maria Callas would envy. Zefferelli had Maria Callas in mind when he cast Teresa Stratas. Like Callas, Stratas has a Greek background through her parents though she was Canadian born, she has the same type of voice and she is in Zefferelli's own words "an electrifying actress and soprano of the lyric entertainment". The Callas connection is most obvious when Stratas appears in a black veiled gown in Act 2 at Flora's party where even her hair is similar to Callas' infamous 50's performances.Released in 1982, Zefferelli sought to "convert" people into opera lovers through the lush visual seduction of the cinema. This is exactly what he did. The cinematography of this film kills you with excessive beauty. The opening credits roll as we see scenes of Paris in the Notre Dame Cathedral area and surrounding residential district by the Seine river. The interior of Violetta Valery's mansion, where she hosts the Act 1 party, is luxurious and Zefferelli allows us to be dizzied with the sheer opulence of the house- gilded mirrors, portraits of Violetta, curtains, chandeliers etc. Visually on film we are able to tell things about the characters that stage performances do not, for example as the guests depart from Act 1's party, an old woman steals a silver box from Violetta proving to us that Violetta is not among real friends, these are only fair-weathered friends and bad ones at that. They were not even there for her when she was dying in the finale.
The beginning of the film has Violetta reminiscing about the better days as a desirable and wealthy courtesan who partied all the time. She is deathly ill and already her house is sold and men are moving her things out. The country scenes are incredibly beautiful as Violetta and Alfredo live happily in seclusion. Alfredo rides his horse and Violetta picks flowers for her greenhouse and feeds her white doves in their big cage. Cornell McNeil's bombastic but fatherly Giorgio Germont is a great support to the refined performances of Domingo and Stratas. The Flora's party scene is exceptional with even more visual beauty as Gypsies and bullfighters dance seductively and professional gamblers enjoy themselves. The closing ensemble is not to be missed and neither is the melancholy and tragic ending. Conductor James Levine leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Once again, this is the greatest and ultimate version of La Traviata ever made. It is a must have for opera fans and for curious non-opera lovers. Other films Domingo made after this film are Carmen in '84 and Verdi's Othello in 86. Teresa Stratas is the greatest Violetta and she will win your heart with her convincing performance as the sickly, passionate and self-sacrificing courtesan whose love for Alfredo redeems her and gives her happiness even if she dies at the end.
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