Verdi la Traviata

Opera superstars Renée Fleming and Rolando Villazón star in the sumptuous 2006 Los Angeles production of Verdi's tragic masterpiece.
"Violetta has lately become one of Fleming's signature roles, and she acted the part as compellingly as she sang it, which was warmly, with sparkling top notes and an ease with the vocal line that any singer would envy." (Los Angeles Times)

…Aside from the staging issues, the singing and acting of Cinzia Forte as Violetta was excellent and probably helped carry everyone else along. Tenor Saimir Pirgu was a pretty fine Giorgio Germont and he gets second place for acting. Giovanni Meoni, who played Giorgio Germont, the meddling father, was an excellent singer, but stiff as a board in his delivery. Chris De Moor as the baron is most memorable for his ghastly makeup and attire. Same comment for Flora, played by Tineke Van Ingelgem. The chorus sang beautifully. At the party where the gypsies and bullfighters appear there was the nowadays usual wardrobe malfunction leaving one woman briefly topless–as if this opera needed something risque.

By P. Sutherland (Berea, Ohio, USA)

Verdi's tragic masterpiece is elegantly updated by director Tom Cairns in this 'fresh and thrillingly unfamiliar' (Independent) Glyndebourne production, in which Violetta's death is cast as an idée fixe, creating a liberating framework that is well supported by Hildegard Bechtler's semi-abstract designs. Described as a soprano of 'huge presence, compelling to watch', Venera Gimadieva is 'thrilling' (Guardian) in her company debut as the doomed courtesan, well matched by Michael Fabiano's sharply suited and 'robustly-sung' Alfredo (Financial Times), with Tassis Christoyannis delivering an imposing performance as the formidable Germont père. Conductor Mark Elder reveals his mastery of the opera's dramatic shape, coaxing each and every nuance out of the London Philharmonic Orchestra to create beautifully stylish music-making.

In this live 1973 performance from Japan, Scotto is parthnered by one of the great tenors of our time, José Carreras, then at the start of his international career. The distinguished baritone Sesto Bruscantini is a formidable Germont who sings an exceptionally moving rendition of the famous aria "Di Provenza il mar".

All of these are live recordings so the sound is quite variable. The standard square box contains separate soft plastic sleeves in which the cds are inserted. The advantage is that the cds are well protected (minor risk for scrapes compared to cardboard), but there is no information printed on the sleeve since it is made of plastic. There is some basic information printed on each cd (name, composer, cd #, the act/s and the date of the recording). There is also a small 24pg booklet that introduces the box including some photos as well as content description for each disc (opera, singers, time and location as well as a list of the separate tracks). I have been collecting these boxes for a while and always find it worthwhile as there are gems nicely interspersed in these collections. By Moonfish