Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Fernando Previtali, Rome Opera Orchestra :: Traviata (RMST) [Hybrid SACD]

Traviata (RMST) [Hybrid SACD]
Giuseppe Verdi, Fernando Previtali, Rome Opera Orchestra
Traviata (RMST) [Hybrid SACD]
Genre: Classical
 

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Giuseppe Verdi, Fernando Previtali, Rome Opera Orchestra, Anna Moffo, Richard Tucker, Robert Merill
Title: Traviata (RMST) [Hybrid SACD]
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: RCA
Release Date: 9/5/2006
Album Type: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Original recording remastered
Genre: Classical
Styles: Opera & Classical Vocal, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830)
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 828768262320
 

CD Reviews

"La Bellissima in her prime"
Michel | Montreal, Quebec | 09/21/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The late Anna Moffo had a relatively short but brilliant carreer in

opera. This 1960 recording captures her in her youthful prime in what

would soon become her signature role. She may well have been the soprano

Verdi had in mind when he wrote La Traviata so well suited to the role

she was - a strikingly beautiful woman with a warm velvety voice of

considerable range and agility combined with an affecting manner with

words and music. Hers is a beautiful and touching portrayal - she is in

turn seductive, passionate, vulnerable, desperate - the true romantic

heroine with a tragic end - she is partnered by two Met stalwarts of

the time - Richard Tucker is a rather beefy Alfredo but he sings well

and works hard at lightening his voice while Robert Merrill with his

rich dark solid voice and incisive phrasing is a classic Germont.

Maestro Previtali paces the opera very well and observed all the

standard theatre cuts of the time - the sound excellent - at bargain

price a must have for any Traviata and/or Moffo fan !



"
LOVELY!, as I knew it would be!
Gregory E. Foster | Portland, ME, USA | 06/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had this recording on LP back in the 60's, and also got it on CD when it was released some years back. This has ALWAYS been my favorite "La Traviata" of the dozens of recordings of the work. NONE of the others come close to this one....probably the closest is the Kleiber/Domingo/Cotrubas on DG, but even this recording falls short of this wonderful old recording with Previtali at the helm. I was unaware that the sacd re-releases from RCA (Sony?) were going to go into the realm of opera recordings (so I guess I'm going to be spending a LOT of money in the near future, upgrading AGAIN, for many recordings). When I happened to run into this new listing on here, I HAD to purchase this lovely testament to the talents and skills of the four principals in this wonderful (and NO way around it) FIRST CHOICE for this most poignant of Verdi's operas. There is nobody in the whole canon of recorded Violettas who can touch Anna Moffo's rendition of this tragic character. Merrill...well, let's face it, this man OWNED this role for the whole of his long and illustrious career. And Richard Tucker...well, he was never one of my favorite tenors, BUT, the man did always turn in commendable performances, but somehow, to me, there never was the "depth" that I expect to a character in his performances. I never saw the man in a live performance, so maybe this might have made a great difference...as we all know, the visual aspect of this art form is deeply affecting, also. And lastly, Maestro Previtali.......as always, this great master guides his forces well, and leads them in a deeply thrilling orchestral statement, underpinning and lovingly moving the soloists, (and performance of the instrumentalists), along the finest lines to be exhibited in any recording.



I just knew that if the engineers were going to take the time and trouble to remaster this recording again, especially with this newer technology, that they would not fail to give their best to this most special of all Verdi recordings. RCA, you are to be commended first of all for making this the very special recording that it is. As clearly demonstrated by ALL of your other recordings from your "golden age", your technicians and other people involved in capturing the voices, the orchestral, and choral output from all concerned certainly were great masters, and they always managed to get VERDI "Just Right", time after time after time. And, yet again, you folks (at Sony this time?) have done this lovely older gem a very great justice. "Brava", to you all, for your efforts!



This recording is considered by everyone I have ever talked with, read reviews by, or checked databases from, the very greatest of all studio recorded "La Traviatas", bar none. It belongs in everyone's opera collection as a supreme example of what can happen when artists, musicians, directors, and producers and technicians can all get their heads and hearts "into" something. Sheer perfection from everyone involved, and a great tribute to your talents and what they could achieve.



Please Note However, that there is no libretto enclosed with this remastering. Most discount-priced re-releases today do not of course give you one, so you will have to go online and download one, or borrow one from another recording if you wish to follow along. How very much happier everyone would be if the manufacturers would simply include one, and up the price $5....I know of nobody who would not be willing to pay for a libretto.

"
THE Traviata to have.
Alan Montgomery | Oberlin, Oh USA | 04/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't own the newly mastered version, so I'll simply review the performance itself. There the words "high fidelity" refer to the performance and not to fancy, digital sound. Anna Moffo is still the best Violetta I have ever heard. She makes each phrase sound. She is not afraid of forcing her voice a little for effect. She is singing the standard text (which means, the performance is cut as it usually was until Caballe recorded it.) She sings better than Callas, and she makes almost everything just as heartbreaking. Richard Tucker was never my favorite tenor, but a committed performance like this is always a plus. He may not get his cabaletta but he does such a wonderful job, you don't care. His scene at the gambling is chilling. Robert Merrill basically owned the role of Germont for his entire career. He may not have been the subtlest artist, but such honest singing has its plusses. And it is clear that Tucker, Moffo and Merrill had all worked together before going into the studio. The conducting of Previtali is vital and paced just right. No tempos spiralling out of control or languishing (I can't take the Sills/Gedda recording because of the languid tempos the conductor takes for Sills.) The supporting cast is standard casting from the Rome opera, with Piero di Palma taking his honors, as usual."