La Traviata [Blu-ray]


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Rating: 4.3

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La Traviata [Blu-ray]

Description

The infamous and uniquely compelling opera event of 2005 is now available on Blu-Ray DVD. The Salzburg Festival's La Traviata features the unforgettable performances of Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, and Thomas Hampson in a dramatic staging by Willy Decker. Features Conductor Carlo Rizzi and the Wiener Philharmoniker. Also including a special documentary: Behind the Scenes--The Rehearsals for LA TRAVIATA, and an introduction by Rolando Villazón.




    La Traviata [Blu-ray] Reviews


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    32 Reviews
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    48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
    4.0 out of 5 stars A case of the Emperor's new clothes?... Lovely performances nonetheless... Beautiful DVD memento, July 7, 2006
    This is the by now famous and not a little controversial 2005 Salzburg Festival production of La Traviata. It's a live performance recorded over five nights at the Grosses Festspielhaus with the best bits spliced together to form this video. It was to all intents and purposes a tremendous success. The audio CD has already become the fastest selling opera CD in Austrian history. It earned platinum status earlier this year, a near miraculous feat for a full-length opera recording in this day and age.

    The performances are almost universally outstanding. The star of this opera is without doubt the lovely Russian soprano Anna Netrebko who sings the role of Violetta. One critic called it "the Netrebko show." Besides a gorgeous voice, she is a stunning beauty and a joy just to look at. Rolando Villazon is also superb in his role as Alfredo. And Thomas Hampson makes a very distinguished Germont. There is little to fault here in terms of performance.

    The production... Read more
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    13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
    5.0 out of 5 stars Abandon All Pre-Conceived Notions And Watch It! It's Amazing!, February 3, 2007
    By 
    Christopher L. Dolmetsch (Hurricane, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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    When watching this starkly modern rendition of Verdi's all-too-familiar masterpiece "La Traviata" it is best to abandon all pre-conceived notions about how this work should look and feel and just watch it for what it is: A new reading of a well-known opera. Not only is the singing universally outstanding, but the conceptualizing is refreshing and very much exciting. I, too, had my misgivings during the opening act's party scene, but I was willing to give the staging some time and discovered myself drawn in. By the end I was just beginning to fathom the ideas behind the use of a large clock to mark the passing of time and the sinister figure who later became the doctor in act three. This work will either impress or depress, but I guarantee it will not fail to leave its mark.
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    16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
    5.0 out of 5 stars Modernized Staging of Verdi Classic Is Truly Better Seen Than Just Heard, July 24, 2006
    By 
    Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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    With some reservations, I enjoyed the two-disc CD recording of this fulsome performance of Verdi's "La Traviata" released late last year. Under the direction of Carlo Rizzi leading the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic), the classic opera represents a prime opportunity to intertwine grand romantic melodrama with many of the composer's most famous arias and duets. Even though there are choruses and set pieces, it is really more a chamber opera, and you need three powerfully sculpted voices to make this a momentous occasion. Removing the visual element, the performance feels variable in spots despite the immense talent involved.

    However, now that I can see and appreciate director Willi Decker's spare, modernist staging at the 2005 Salzburg Festival on this 2006 Deluxe Edition DVD package, the opera becomes a more emotionally transcendent experience. He takes the passing of time as his primary leitmotif in the form of a gigantic clock with Death taking an... Read more
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