Argentina Hotels Travel - Verdi - La Traviata / Gheorghiu, Lopardo, Nucci, Covent Garden, Solti
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List Price: $33.98
Argentina Hotels Travel Price: $33.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
Manufacturer: Decca
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028944811926
Label: Decca
Manufacturer: Decca
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Decca
Release Date: 1995-09-19
Studio: Decca
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Gheorghiu is great, but....
Comment: I hate to burst the bubbles of the "automatic five star" brigade, but you really cannot call this set the best "Traviata" available if you have some knowledge of what is actually out there. I do agree that Gheorghiu's Violetta is enchantingly vocalised and acted, and if she were worthily partnered I would place this recording near the top of the tree, but "La Traviata" has proved a notoriously challenging opera to pull off in the recording studio and a perfect realisation yet remains to be done...so don't hold your breath, given the current state of the recording industry. According to your taste - and I like her very much - perhaps only Fleming could give us another great Violetta on record; meanwhile the likes of Caballe, Callas and, in particular, Moffo and Freni (see my reviews) reign supreme alongside Gheorghiu, who sings divinely but is vocally not as captivating an actress as Callas - nobody is. Solti conducts sensitively without putting any particular marks of individuality on the score.
The problems here are the tight, throaty tenor of Lopardo and the dull, bland Germont of that perennial second-rate baritone Leo Nucci (who had all too short a period of some bloom in the voice back in the 80's and always evinced some nasty vocal faults). As much as I enjoyed Gheorghiu, I found that this set could not hold my attention as much as it should have and ultimately I gave my copy away to return to the other, earlier recordings.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best Modern Version
Comment: You cannot go wrong with conducting legend Sir Georg Solti's 1994 version, one of his last recordings before he died three years later. This recording, in outstanding sound and also available as a DVD, debuts the amazing Romanian super-star Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta. She'll have you convinced she's singing on blow.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Recording!
Comment: Traviata is one of those operas which everyone who has a shred of an operatic voice loves to record, and sometimes those who don't have any idea of what the roles in this opera are all about sing it anyways. The carrying power of this opera is the heroine, Violetta, and one only has to look at her transformation, musically and dramatically, to see why a soprano makes or breaks her career with this role. Many people would overlook the opera mainly because too many mediocre singers have performed it, but it was THE work that represented the turning point in Verdi's musical career. The vocal and orchestral writing are perhaps one of the perfect combinations of his late romanticism and early bel canto influences that characterized works like Attila and Aroldo.
Anyways, back to the recording. Much ink has been spilled about Angela Gheorghiu and about how she sounds like Callas and this and that singer. Well, let me tell you...she isn't Callas! Nor was Joan Sutherland, or Montserrat Caballe, or Victoria de los Angeles. Joan was Joan, Montsie was Montsie, and Victoria is Victoria. I think people should get over the fact that if only one interpretation of the role were to be accepted, then perhaps we should bury the score in the ground, get a really nice recording of Maria Callas in the role, clean out the audience interference (all her Traviatas were live), and play it in the opera house while second-rate actors lip-synch it. Or, we can listen to new singers who really know how to interpret their roles, despite the fact that it isn't Maria, and praise them for the wonderful insights they give to the role. I think Angela Gheorghiu is a wonderful Violetta. She may not be a coloratura soprano, but she has a dark grain in her voice that makes her Violetta all the more effective in the rest of the opera. Her Act I, by the way, is magnificent, with all the requisite coloratura in place minus the interpolated E-flat...which isn't in the score, FYI. Her vocal shadings are perfect for the role, her second act emotionally correct and giving, her third act one of the most heartbreaking accounts since Callas. This is her first run of Violettas, I believe, and while her knowledge of the character is already outstanding, I have to say that hearing her in the Met broadcast a few months ago found me realizing that she had developed her insights into the role. She is perhaps the definitive Violetta of the day.
The rest of the cast is good, but not as great as one would have liked for Gheorghiu's partnerships. Frank Lopardo is an ardent Alredo, but he lacks some panache to his voice which gives him the needed ping in certain parts of the opera. Leo Nucci is a very charismatic Germont, but again, he lacks some voice. He is still better than many of the singers out there who TRY to be Verdi baritones.
Solti is one of the best conductors ever to have conducted the score. In his 80's, he remarkably produced one of the most heartfelt and transparent readings I've heard, and all the bombastic drive that he is associated with is absent from this recording.
A definitive Traviata? Perhaps if one were to consider its merits and weigh it with something as legendary as the Giulini Traviata, well...yes, I think this is quite definitive for our day and age.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fun, energetic, and well orchestrated.
Comment: A live recording from 1993 documents Gheorghiu's debut at Covent Garden. And, a wonderful debut it is. Gheorghiu is quite remarkable, although not the greatest interpretor of the role. She brings some fresh ideas and wonderful coloring to the vocal line. Her vocalising sometimes gets a little embellished but stays true to character. Her voice is small but stupendous. Now, her timbre has never been my cup of tea. A little grating to my ears. The supporting cast really shines with Nucci bringing a wonderful gentility to Giorgio Germont. He understands being a father. Lopardo is simply wonderful in the second act intro. Solti as always guides the pit with a wonderful rhythm and idea for logical flow of the music. He really has an idea for Traviata as a whole. Something not often found nowadays. While this would not be my first Traviata it is certainly worth a look.
P.S. - To those suggesting she matches Callas or even Sutherland, think again. She needs time to really interpret the role. Also, the fullness of the voice just isn't there. She is a lyric spinto with a healthy upper extension. Not a dramatic soprano with the range of Callas or pure tonal beauty of Sutherland.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best La Traviata!!!!!!!! EVER..........
Comment: It is very hard indeed to add something to all this great reviews. Before I've seen Gheorghiu in this particular opera it was Callas the Diva to which I compared any performance. I found Callas Violeta very emotional and touching, not to mention the unique voice.
I liked Opera until I heard Solti's La Traviata. Then I felt in love with.....
The great conducting of Solti combined with Gheorghiu's interpretation of Violeta made me see so many colors in the pallet that Opera generally offers. Actually this two (Solti and Gheorghiu) stunning in this performance, made me understand and love Opera.
I am not an expert but it is hard not to see the warmth that Gherghiu is giving to Violeta's role, from a thrilling voice (even with that few mistakes) to a great dramatic presence on the stage (so touchy)!
You didn't understand Opera? See this one and you will.
Are you still wondering what the Opera it's all about? See this one and you will find the answer.
To the experts: You think you've heard it all? Listen to this one and you'll think again...
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