Verdi - La Traviata
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Movie Reviews of Verdi - La Traviata
Movie Review: Wow! Can La Traviata get more wonderful than this?
Summary: 5 Stars
I was so moved by this performance of La Traviata that I could hardly contain myself. If you want to own only one opera DVD in your life, this should be it. You will want to watch it over and over and again. If there is anything you feel missing, it is Verdi's fault.
Anna Netrebko's singing and acting are simply wonderful. She uses her body language and facial expressions so well it's pure magic. And her voice! Its elegance, sweetness, and emotional power blow my mind. There is nothing more you can ask out of a Violetta. Rolando Villazon is just as wonderful. Their duet scenes are as natural and passionate as it can get. You feel their ecstasy and pain, while appreciating the beauty of love. At moments, the emotional force is so strong that it becomes overwhelming. It must have left an indelible impression on the live audience. I envy them. Opera is such an exquisite art form and this performance is the ultimate demonstration of that.
Ignore the negative comments on the modern stage design (I get annoyed by those comments), because it is innovative and tasteful. It complements the music and drama so well.
Recommended with the highest enthusiasm.
Movie Review: La Traviata - Salzburg
Summary: 5 Stars
Having witnessed the palpable acting skills of both Villazon and Netrebko, one will enjoy this DVD. Their voices are rich, luscious and the acting only lends credence to the performance. It is refreshing to see opera updated by Dekker to meet modern tastes rather than the same old staid traditions of the MET.
Thomas Hampson is wonderful in this performance. The entire opera moves well, both musically as well as plot wise. It is a performance not to be missed. Netrebko and Villazon seem to have an innate ability to connect well both emotionally as well as musically. One should buy their recent duet album as proof of their talents. Netrebko has also teamed up well with Rolando Villazon and Roberto Alagna in Manon with great success. Her long awaited debut at Carnegie Hall with Dmitri Hvorostovsky hopefully quell the critics.
Ms. Netrebko has done much to popularize opera and that deserves much credit. Indeed she has been recognized by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people of the year. Her I Puritani at MET was thrilling and indeed she may be next Callas-like Diva
Movie Review: Passionate, Sensual and Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
This Traviata will not be to everyones taste due to its minimalist staging and modern design. However, for those willing to try something new, this is a rare treat. Villazon and Netrebko have a real chemistry about them and this production oozes sensuality. The voices are sublime and the acting superb. The minimalist staging works wonderfully well and really adds to this production, as nothing is there to detract from the magnificent singing and acting - except for the symbolic messages in the staging. There is a relaxed abandoned feel to the performance which is very different and very appealing. Both Villazon and Netrebko are extremely relaxed in their acting, not the stiff and stuffy stars of old - this is modern and well worth adding to your collection. Netrebko seems to have the talent to sing in all ranges lyric, coloratura and spinto - she is seriously impressive, my only fear for her, is that her popularity will ruin her voice if she does not take care of it. Give this DVD a chance - you won't be at all sorry, unless you are really set in your opera loving ways.
Movie Review: Oh The Voices!
Summary: 5 Stars
Some might be put off by the minimalistic staging of this version of La Traviata -- originally a contemporary set piece in Verdi's world of the mid-19th Century and baed on Alexander Dumas Fils masterful novel, then stage play known now as Camille. Bringing the staging and time frame up to the more modern 1920's and giving the stage a stark setting dominated mainly by a tell tale clock, for me makes the focus not on costumes but on the voices. And what voices! Anna Netrebko, as Violetta, and Rolando Villazon as Alfredo exude a sexual chemistry in their duets unparalleled in the operatic world. Their voices are sharp, clean and strong and neither one overpowers the other. I have always admired the soprano voice but never before now LOVED a single diva's instruument -- Netrebko is both beautiful and magnificent. Add to that Thomas Hampson, now entering into the more mature roles, as Alfredo's father, and you have three of the best voices you will ever hear in a single performance.Movie Review: next to heaven
Summary: 5 Stars
Heaven itself would be Netrebko learning how to use her eyes and face in the crucial interior monologues: "Look down, Anna"--it's that simple (watch Callas even in recital, not to mention the Covent Garden Tosca). Even so, heaven is probably out of reach: Russians are not trained in sottovoce and sprechestimme: they don't know how to do it any more than they know how to do a soft, unprepared pirouette. Netrebko in act iv is helplessly hearty as she dies. Still, this is the next best thing, she looks the part, she sings with utter beauty and technical security, and Villazon is devine. And then there's Mr Hampson--I'd like to learn what the buffs think of his G-pere; for me it was as beautiful as anything I heard and the acting (thank you Director Decker) is newer and more convincing than anything. In watching dvd's I can't yet say which comes up more often for me, the Stratas-Zeferelli or this--this is too new to me. Right now those two are the only ones i'd watch 6 times.