Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Aldo Ceccato, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Verdi: La Traviata (Highlights)

Great Highlights Album

Strephon | Montana, USA | 05/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc features Highlights from one of the best available recording of La Traviata, and features Beverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda and Rolando Panerai.



Beverly Sills is a lovely Violetta. Here she sings with passion and grace. This is a performace heavy vocalization, and her acting sometimes stands out above the music which some may object to. She is at her best with "Addio del passato", her dying song. Nicolai Gedda sings with his usual strong voice. Rolando Panerai is the greatest addition to the opera, and the most stunning Germont on recording. His duet with Beverly Sills is splendid, and his "Di Provenza il Mar" takes the music of Verdi to the heights it deserves to attain. As he beckons his son to return home, his voice ranges from sadness to passion to near desperation. There could be no better Germont.



The highlights album is perfect for anyone who likes to listen to "La Traviata" casually without following along with the entire story. Every important song appears on the album, and the only song that is missed is the chorus of partygoers in Act 2.



A person would have no regrets if they owned this highlights disc, or even the full recording of "La Traviata" with Sills, Gedda and Panerai."

Ceccato The Tempo Turtle Almost Spoils La Traviata

demien | U.S.A. | 08/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a good bargain if you're searching for a taste of Traviata.

The cast is very good with Beverly Sills as Violetta, Nicolai Gedda as Alfredo, and Rolando Panarei as Germont.

Beverly Sills handles the demanding technical passages of act 1 and act 2 very well though her singing is not as dazzling or spectacular as Joan Sutherland's but that has more to do with the conductor's intermittant sluggish tempos which drain the sparkle,intensity, and flow out of some of the arias.

Where Sills triumphs over Sutherland is in the dramatic department as we experience a more sensitive and revealing portrait of the tragic Violetta which truly reaches the listener's heart.

Nicolai Gedda is fabulous as Alfredo producing heroic beautiful tone,elegant phrasing, and convincing sensitive characterization and Rolando Panarei makes an imposing Germont with that rich full bodied baritone pulling thru the vocal tightropes with ease meanwhile producing a compelling and colorful portrait of the old man.

The packaging is not generous as their is no text translation but a track by track summary that is extremely skimpy in its details but you do get a little biography on Sills and Gedda as well as a few details about the composer Giuseppe Verdi.

The extracts that were selected for this release are well chosen though the final aria "Prendi quest'e L'immagine" is not present which is a notable flaw as listener's should be able to hear the final moments of La Traviata when Violetta dies.

Oh well, what can you do except complement this release with another highlights cd or just break down and get the complete opera which is actually the best choice since it is one of Giuseppe Verdi's greatest compositions and he is the king of all opera.

Enjoy!

I hope this review was helpful to you and happy opera hunting.



Further Quality Listening:Complete Traviata's=Cotrubas,Milnes,

Domingo,Kleiber on DG + Callas,Di Stefano, Giulini live on ancient mono Emi but worth it+ Sutherland,Bergonzi,Pritchard on Decca.

IL Trovatore with Bjorling,Milanov,Warren,Cellini on Rca,

Rigoletto with Pavarotti,Sutherland,Milnes on Decca,

Aida with Domingo,Caballe,Muti on Emi, La Boheme with Domingo,Caballe,Solti on STEREO Rca or with Bjorling,De los Angeles,Beecham on MONO Emi if you don't mind the inferior sonics."