Verdi: La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Aldo Ceccato (Conductor), San Carlo Theater Orchestra & Chorus (Orchestra), San Carlo Theater Orchestra & Chorus (Naples) (Orchestra), Alfredo Kraus (Performer), Annamaria Borrelli (Performer), Beverly Sills (Performer), Gennaro Chiocca (Performer), Mario Zanasi (Performer), Marisa Zotti (Performer), Nino Carta (Performer), Renzo Gonzales (Performer), Vittorio Pandano (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Alfredo Kraus, Annamaria Borrelli, Beverly Sills, Gennaro Chiocca, Mario Zanasi, et al.
• Orchestra: San Carlo Theater Orchestra & Chorus, San Carlo Theater Orchestra & Chorus (Naples)
• Conductor: Aldo Ceccato
• Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
• Audio CD (November 14, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Opera D'oro
• ASIN: B0000516SS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #695,719 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love Beverly Sills, but a bad recording, July 15, 2001

By 

Eric Y. Korpon (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi: La Traviata (Audio CD)

I still remember the night I first heard Beverly Sills sing La Traviata at Wolf Trap in 1977. I saw this recording and nostalgia prompted me to buy it. Her voice is as I remeber it, but the recording doesn't do her justice. The microphone placement is bad. It seems like the orchestra overposers her and at the applause, there is a really loud set of hands that seem to be right under the mic and it gets annoying.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Performance Marred Only By The Bad Acoustics, September 18, 2004

By 

Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Verdi: La Traviata (Audio CD)

This live recording of Verdi's La Traviata is marred by its terrible sound and bad acoustics. Such problems are to be expected of live recordings. Nevertheless, there is greater quality of sound in Beverly Sill's studio recording of Traviata, which she sung opposite tenor Nicolai Gedda available on the EMI record label. There are two versions, one as a compact disc album and the other as compact disc within a book featuring illustrations, the libretto and background on the composer and cast of singers available on the Black Dog Opera Series. This live recording was an attempt to capture Beverly Sill's debut in Naples, January 17, 1970, at the San Carlo opera house. What people probably don't know about Beverly Sills is she sung Traviata more than any other soprano ever did. At one time, Beverly Sills sang the role more than 30 times in a course of a month or two, and that in the US alone. She performed Violetta at the Metropolitan Opera, at the Wolf Trap Festival (a production which was filmed live and is available on DVD and VHS) Violetta was a role which carried with it many dramatic opportunities for Sills. Beverly Sills sang the role with passion, conviction and even a spirituality. She IS a thoroughly believable Violetta. At first, in Act 1 as a festive Paris socialite, bubbly, warm and displaying stratospheric coloratura as in the Brindisi and closing Sempre Libera aria. In her duet with Germont in Act 2 she becomes noble, self-sacrificing and compassionate - "Ditte A La Giovine" "Morro La Mia Memoria" still very much in despair that she is forced to leave Alfredo knowing she will ultimately die. Her Death Scene in the final act is very moving and poignant. Sills' feathery light voice is perfect for the role of a frail, dying woman who can't be vigorous in action nor in voice. Why do so many dramatic, big voices sing the role of a dying young girl ? The role is better suited for such lyric voices as Roberta Peters, Lily Pons, Anna Moffo and most recently Renee Fleming. The lighter voices produce the more realistic effect for Violetta. Yet the more popular Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballe, Victoria De Los Angeles, and recently Angela Gheorghiu and Anna Netrebko have all sung Violettas with extremely heavy voices with success. I don't understand why. Callas is superfluously dramatic and pretentious in the role, Sutherland sings only to sound beautiful instead of convincing, and both Caballe and De Los Angeles were not credible as girls dying of tubercolosis when they were both large, chubby women- the very thing that did not sit well with the premiere in early 1850's when Fanny Salvini sang the role which sent the audience laughing because they could not believe such a plump, healthy woman was dying. This is why Beverly Sills, with her sweet, lyric voice, passionate in all the right places is the perfect soprano for the role of Violetta without all the theatrics most sopranos have done before. I have always thought that Beverly Sills is particularily mesmerizing in the finale to Act 2 when she rises after fainting and sings "Alfredo, Alfredo, In Questo Core Non Poui Comprendere Tutto L'Amore Tu Non Conosce Que Fino Prezzo Del Tuo Desprezzo Provato L'o Ma Vera El Tempo En Que Saprai" "Alfredo, In This Heart You Don't Understand How Much I love you, At the price of your hate I have tested it. But The Day Will Come When You Will Know....and the chorus, Alfredo, Germont join in.

This recording has really bad sound. There's no getting away from it. But if you are a fan of Beverly Sills and want to contain a memento of her debut in Naples then this is the recording to get. If that is the case, it is a recording that has personal value to the fan.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Traviata!!, November 6, 2002

By 

"saskita" (Uruguay) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi: La Traviata (Audio CD)

I must admit that this Traviata remebered mer a lot to the Callas, di Stefano Traviata, becouse Of the terrible sound. You can hardly hear the female voices, but I`m going to judge this cd in terms of interpretation and not of sound.
I found out that this Traviata is Wonderful. Kraus really great in "0 mio rimorso" and all the opera. Alway in perfect voice and a wonderful interpretation of Alfredo.
Sills became my favorite Violetta after Callas. Great Coloraturas in the first act and drama in the second and third. Wonderful the duet with Germont intepretated by Zanasi. Not The best Germont but without doubts very concentrated in his role.
The direction is perfect I loved all the tempos.
Forgeting the bad sound this is a Traviata that should be remembered as one of the bests of all.