La traviata

"This revival featured Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho who brings much to the role of Violetta. Her deeply-impassioned dramatic skills are definitely an advantage and her petite build really makes her appear convincing as the frail French courtesan. She sings with a pleasing shimmering quality in her upper register ... Charles Castronovo is a handsome, virile Alfredo. His acting is sympathetic and he vocalises with a golden tone and a deep involvement in his role ... Placido Domingo certainly looks the part of the elder Germont ... His voice at this stage of his career has moments where it is still quite impressive ... Unfortunately, this entire enterprise is all but ruined by a dreadful sound mix which stems from utilizing body microphones on all of the soloists".

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"Der musiceres blankt og effektivt af Maazel. Angela Gheorghiu synes at leve sit eget liv fri af det hektiske orkester og instruktørens beske påhit. Det ligner på flere måder en svanesang. Man er berørt fra start til slut. Den notorisk vanskelige diva er atter et unikum af sejrende disciplin".

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"Dette må være en af de mest spektakulære iscenesættelser af 'La Traviata' nogensinde ... så har den super-æstetiske instruktør Franco Zefirelli iscenesat med en overdådighed, der næsten tager vejret fra tilskueren ... Den visuelle pragt matches af overdådigt velspillende orkester ... I titelrollen møder vi den karismatiske græsk-canadiske sopran Teresa Stratas ... musikalsk og navnlig dramatisk dominerer hun filmen med sin udstråling".

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"Zeffirellis overdådige filmoptagelse fra 1982 med den vidunderligt gribende Teresa Stratas, Placido Domingo og MacNeil dirigeret af James Levine".

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"Der musiceres blankt og effektivt af Maazel. Angela Gheorghiu synes at leve sit eget liv fri af det hektiske orkester og instruktørens beske påhit. Det ligner på flere måder en svanesang. Man er berørt fra start til slut. Den notorisk vanskelige diva er atter et unikum af sejrende disciplin".

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"Overvældende opera ... La traviata fra Salzburg med Netrebko og Villazón er her i fremragende teknik ... Han er en af de bedst syngende Alfredo'er gennem tiderne. Hendes vokalpræstation er i orden, men verden har før hørt bedre Violetta'er, men kun sjældent nogen så gribende ... Dette er opera for både kendere og nybegyndere".

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"Sjælespillet og sangkunsten mellem det skæbneramte par Alfredo og Violetta er en fryd. Den standhaftige, agile, velklingende mexicanske tenor Rolando Villazon og den myge, varmblodige, underskønne russiske sopran Anna Netrebko fører den vanvittige kærlighedshistorie ud i alle dens afkroge og mere til".

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"Anna Netrebko som Violetta er omdrejningspunktet i Verdis "La Traviata". Alene hun er sammen med Rolando Villazon, iført Alfredo, denne forestilling værd, uden at de øvrige medvirkende er betydningsløse i den store scenesammenhæng".

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"Rolando Villazón forfører atter som Alfredo i denne overdådigt lækre, sanseligt stimulerende og utroligt velsyngende udgave af Verdis tragiske opera ... Renée Fleming brillerer som Violetta. Hun indfanger rollens kompleksitet, og hendes vokale arbejde er pletfrit ... De optræder i en scenografi der er pompøs, men alligevel troværdig, og generelt er hele operaen smukt filmet med et fint blik for historiens herlige energi".

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"Sjælespillet og sangkunsten mellem det skæbneramte par Alfredo og Violetta er en fryd. Den standhaftige, agile, velklingende mexicanske tenor Rolando Villazon og den myge, varmblodige, underskønne russiske sopran Anna Netrebko fører den vanvittige kærlighedshistorie ud i alle dens afkroge og mere til".

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"Overvældende opera ... La traviata fra Salzburg med Netrebko og Villazón er her i fremragende teknik ... Han er en af de bedst syngende Alfredo'er gennem tiderne. Hendes vokalpræstation er i orden, men verden har før hørt bedre Violetta'er, men kun sjældent nogen så gribende ... Dette er opera for både kendere og nybegyndere".

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"Anna Netrebko som Violetta er omdrejningspunktet i Verdis "La Traviata". Alene hun er sammen med Rolando Villazon, iført Alfredo, denne forestilling værd, uden at de øvrige medvirkende er betydningsløse i den store scenesammenhæng".

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"In addition to the high-class contributions of the artists, the honest and relevant production and attractive costumes and sets, the recorded sound is extremely good".

"Dante Ferretti's sets and Gabriella Pescucci's costumes offer lavish cinematographic realism in their presentation of the mid-19th century Parisian miliweu ... Immaculate playing from the Scala orchestra, and some sensitive conducting from Lorin Maazel".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 4/5.

"Too much is studied and delivered as if by remote control, albeit supported by some technically accomplished singing ... The Paris performance and its strong musical context doubtless may satisfy Damrau fans".

"Nicht freilich alle Damen scheinen den Violetta-Ansprüchen auch gewachsen, aber wenn es eine kann, dann gegenwärtig Diana Damrau. Denn die Koloraturkönigin entwickelte sich dank der guten Tragfähigkeit ihrer Stimme und einem schönen Mittellagefundament zum lyrisch-dramatischen Sopran. Sie ist eine überzeugende Schauspielerin und wirft sich förmlich auf diese Rolle".

"Dante Ferretti's sets and Gabriella Pescucci's costumes offer lavish cinematographic realism in their presentation of the mid-19th century Parisian miliweu ... Immaculate playing from the Scala orchestra, and some sensitive conducting from Lorin Maazel".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 4/5.

"In addition to the high-class contributions of the artists, the honest and relevant production and attractive costumes and sets, the recorded sound is extremely good".

"Dessay is in her glory ... One phrase after another is crystallised with meaning by her voice and seconded by her inward theatrical fire that tells you she-s living the role like nobody since now-retired Teresa Stratas ... Charles Castronovo is probably the handsomest Alfredo on DVD though his singing, always fine, never reaches the realm of his great predecessors in the role ... Where Sivadier truly serves the opera is in the nuanced character interaction. Time and again, he gets to the heart of a scene, almost despite his own production".

"Vurdering: Diapason d'or" - "Autour de la fragile Traviata de Natalie Dessay, Jean-François Sivadier a conçu un spectacle virtuosissime, magnifié par la captation vidéo. A l'opéra, de tels sommets de vérité théâtrale song bienfait rare ... Alors oui, Diapason d'or, sans l'ombre d'un doute".

"Natalie Dessay remains a phenomenon ... This turned out to be the most moving reading of Violetta I have even seen ... Director Jean-François Sivadier confuses us somewhat but he can't get in Dessay's way. The opera is set in modern day ... It is deconstructionism at its most thorough - we really have no idea who any of these people are ... There are many, many lovely vocal moments ... There's no chance that you won't be touched by her overall performance ... It will take your breath away".

"His production ... ditches built scenery in toto, plays on a forestage area market out by the house curtains and drapes and concentrates on the often very cruel emotional journey of the three principal characters ... Tecwyn Evans conducts with great rhythmic acuity and finds pace and tension without rushing or becoming unduly loud ... An outstanding issue and a quite draining experience".

"I suspect this is an issue that will appeal to fans of Konwitschny, rather than Verdians, but Petersen almost wins me over to the director's fresh, but quirky ideas".

"Konwitschny is of the school that regards all theatre as social critique so the point of La traviata - updated in this production to now - is to examine our attitudes to prostitution ... Marlis Petersen is wonderful ... The orchestral playing is intense and refined".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 5/5.

"The central casting is mixed ... Ultimately it's magnificent Giorgio Germont who steals the show, while there's solid conducting from Lorin Maazel".

Vurdering (performance): 3/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 3/5.

"Whether this is the best version of La traviata on DVD, I do not know, not having seen them all. It does bring a very enjoyable performance from the Royal Opera".

"It's a beautiful staging ... from the sparkling rotunda of Act 1 to the pastel shades of Violetta's country residence and the gilded glamour and skewed perspectives of the gambling scene at Flora's ... Jaho treads more gingerly here, and her tone is never what one could call 'lustrous', but she gets inside the character so thoroughly that one cannot help but suffer with her; Germont's demands wound us as they wound her and she battles so hard in Act 3 that one harbours a hope that Violetta may fight to see another day. Charles Castronovo is a splendid Alfredo, his bright, springy tone capturing the character's impetuosity ... Manacorda conducts sensitively, not always with Solti's zip, but supports his singers well ... An enjoyable memento of an enduring production".

"Her er menneskeligt, bevægende drama - næsten uden scenografi, så man koncentrerer sig helt om mimik og ageren. Og her er vi på højeste plan ... Instruktionen er enestående god ... Og så synges der, så man føler sig hensat til en anden og langt bedre verden".

"Grosse Stimmen und opulente Ausstattung ... James Conlon dirigiert die Vorstellung mit einem scheren Gespür für dramatische Kontrastwirkungen".

Vurdering (Szene): 3/5.

Vurdeing (Musik): 3/5.

" The Hollwood-worthy production by set and costume designer Giovanni Agostinucci hosts a star-turn Traviata which will please almost everyone ... All the principals are good actors ... This is highly recommended".

"Her er menneskeligt, bevægende drama - næsten uden scenografi, så man koncentrerer sig helt om mimik og ageren. Og her er vi på højeste plan ... Instruktionen er enestående god ... Og så synges der, så man føler sig hensat til en anden og langt bedre verden".