Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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130 of 137 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disfigured by cuts, August 19, 2002
This film looks beautiful and the performances by Domingo and Stratas are wonderful (although she is not in her best voice). James Levine's conducting and the playing of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra are as good as you can hear anywhere. The ballet is spectacular. But Zeffirelli cuts away at least one-fourth of the score. He (and many other film makers who have made movies of operas) just doesn't seem to understand that a film of an opera is not an adaptation; it is a performance of that opera using a different medium. An opera is a musical composition; therefore, a film of an opera is a musical performance of a music drama. The film medium frees the visual presentation from the limitations of the stage, but the musical presentation is the essence of the opera and must not be compromised regardless of the medium. Some of Zeffirelli's cuts must infuriate any lover of opera. For example, when Giorgio departs from Violetta after she has promised to leave Alfredo, Zeffirelli cuts some of the "addio"s, saving just a few seconds but destroying the end of the scene. If the opera is more important to you than the cinematography, you may want to buy the DVD starring Angela Gheorghiu and Frank Lopardo, conducted by the late Georg Solti.
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
another Zeffirelli grand production, October 6, 2004
"La Traviata" is undoubtedly Verdi's loveliest and most romantic opera, with no subplots to detract from the ill-fated love of Violetta and Alfredo, and the melodies are sublime and plentiful.
Though as a rule I prefer a stage production to an "opera film", because the vocals usually have less passion to them, and the lip-synching is often noticeable, "La Traviata" is ideally suited to director Zeffirelli's lavish style of sumptuous ornate sets and beautiful outdoor settings, making this an opera that would be enjoyed by those who are either unfamiliar with, or don't particularly like opera, as well as the aficionados.
Teresa Stratas is a delicate, wonderful Violetta, with her huge eyes and petite stature assets for the part of the ailing heroine, and Placido Domingo, with beard and tousled hair, is fabulous as Alfredo, a part that is surely one of the most naïve and foolish of heroes, but blessed with marvelous music to sing.
James Levine conducts with good pacing, and Cornell MacNeil makes an excellent Papa Germont.
A special treat for ballet fans is the performance by the exquisite Russian ballerina Ekaterina Maximova, and her husband, the great Vladimir Vasiliev, as the Spanish matador dancers; The choreography is by Alberto Testa, and includes Gabriella Borni as the gypsy dancer. This Second Act scene, with the "Noi siamo zingarelle" and "Di Madride noi siam mattadori" is some of the most delightful music in the opera, and it is marvelous to see it danced so well.
The DVD extras are supposed to be: Production notes, Cast/filmmakers' bios, Film highlights, Theatrical trailer, and web links, but my disc did not display options, so was obviously defective; I would have loved to have removed the captions and subtitles, which is also an option, as well as being able to have subtitles in French.
A sublime opera with a terrific cast, this is very satisfying viewing and listening, even for "stage production" fanatics like me. Total playing time is 1 hour and 45 minutes.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost perfect, May 25, 2004
I loved this film. Only about 20 minutes were excised from the score, it was nearly complete. At greater length in the other reviews can be read descriptions of the ballet, breathtakingly beautiful scenery, particularly effective arias. Domingo and Stratas were wonderful. I have Stratas in Boheme on DVD (to replace my original VHS), it made me cry. Traviata made me cry. Can you call anything so painful beautiful? The music was of course glorious. The principals acted and sang to perfection, and of course frail diminutive Stratas looked the part. The movie began interesting, then became wonderful at the first party with the drinking song, then lost interest for me for some time, then picked up again and never let up. The camera-work and crowd scenes were brilliantly done. (I don't like to use the word "brilliant" because it sounds so affected, but I will.) I resent the reviews that call this a good introduction to opera, as though it were somehow inferior to "real opera," I find it condescending, supercilious, pompous and demeaning. However, I gave a copy of the movie to a close friend of mine who also cried, watched it twice and loved it, and this was I think her first opera. It is very beautiful music, well-acted, well-directed, well-sung and with scenery beyond belief.
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