Rating: 
Summary: A Traviata of Great Emotional Power and Vocal Splendor
Review: La traviata holds a very precious status in my experiences, from my first hearing with Eleanor Steber and Richard Tucker from a Met visit to Dallas, to two performances of Maria Callas, and two performances of Montserrat Caballe, all four with the Dallas Civic Opera under Nicola Resigno. Performance-wise, I do not know how Solti's could be bettered, as even Leo Nucci, a somewhat casual singer, deeply involves himself in the Act II confrontation between Violetta and Germont Pere.Angela Gheorghiu immerses herself into Violetta's suffering,leaving every emotional nuance explored tactfully and lyrically. Added to the physical beauty of the soprano, the voice reflects a lyrical sweetness with spectacular technique. Her runs in "Sempre libera" are neat, articulate, and dead center, and follows an exquisite reading of "Ah, fors e lui." Frank Lopardo, her Alfredo, exhibits a sympathetic understanding of this thankless role, and rewards the spectator with a complete involvement. The voice itself is quite handsome. Even Leo Nucci generates fire with the long Act II scene "Pura siccome un angelo" and "Dite alla giovine". Act III pulls out all the emotional and dramatic stops for an overwhelming finale. But the surprise of surprises is Sir Georg Solti's conducting. After years of hearing him drive Verdi with the intensity of a late twentieth-century Toscanini, what an unexpected joy to hear this wonderful gentleman lead a performance of great sensitivity and with a laid-back attitude that lets Verdi's lyricism speak with loving non-maudlin sentimentality. This performance is a must-have, beautifully recorded both visually and aurally.
Rating: 
Summary: A La Traviata worth having!
Review: La Traviata: Surely this one work must have the highest ratio of great songs and recognizable tunes in all of operadom.This production at Covent Garden stars Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta, Frank Lopardo as Alfredo and Leo Nucci as Giorgio Germont (Alfredo's father). The conductor is Sir George Solti. The camera placement and switching, as well as editing are well done. The sets were appropriate for the scenes depicted, although the non-party scenes were rather drab and austere. Angela Gheorghiu's dresses were sumptuous and a compliment to her good looks and figure.
I found the opening scene, although well done, rather stiff. It is in the final two acts, however, that the singing and acting ability of the performers comes through. Angela Gheorghiu interpretation of the fatally ill Violetta is nothing short of breath taking. Her use of hand action and facial expressions to augment her mood is extremely well done and conveys the delight or sorrow she's feeling at any given time. Frank Lopardo has a wonderful voice and acts out a very credible Alfredo. The final scene with him and Violetta is heart wrenching. The only weak acting performance is that of Leo Nucci as Georgi Germont. He seemed to me to be very stiff, mannequin like, and in a couple spots in the middle act he looks directly at the camera. I find when this happens I lose my sense of involvement in the performance and I'm snapped back into reality: Annoying! (Thus the loss of one star) The background music of the final act is the epitome of the melody perfectly fitting the mood of the scene that is being preformed. (In this case Violetta last moments before dying) Angela Gheorghiu' is at her absolute best in this tragic ending and the chemistry between her and Alfredo will touch your heart. All in all, a magnificent performance. A La Traviata worth having.
Rating: 
Summary: Supremely Unmemorable
Review: Nothing about this La Traviata was bad, but I found it disappointing. I had heard so many good things about that perhaps my expectations were unreasonable. Having seen it less than a week ago, the only things I clearly remember liking were the sets, the costumes, and the guests dressed up as matadors in the second party scene. I do not wish to seem unjust, I did enjoy watching this version. I would not, however, recommend it to anyone. I much prefer the version from 2000, with Eteri Gvazava and Jose Cura.
Rating:
Summary: Angela Gheorghiu!
Review: Obviously a lot of effort has been put into this production to give this classical work a fresh new look. The set is stylishly simple, worked especially well for the first two Acts. The costumes are sumptuous, especially those of Violetta's. The orchestra is lush and clear. Sir Georg Solti, who is on camera during overture and some of the instrumental passages, leads the music into a world that's extremely touching. But the most distinguished of this production is Angela Gheorghiu, in the role of Violetta. Gheorghiu has brought life to this Verdi's tragic heroine. Her vocal power and beautiful looks have won many of the audience, including me. She is exquisite or even unique in her way of acting, including her facial expression, hand and body gesture, reflecting her deep connection with the character. Her Violetta is full of drama and range, which is everything you'd imagine for this character: her arrogance, her kindness, her weakness, and her vulnerability. Vocally she is very strong. She certainly is one of the greatest sopranos in the world, if not the greatest. It is a joy to watch her singing. Because of all the brilliancies about Angela Gheorghiu, it must be hard to find a tenor who can match her vocal ability and her stage presence at the same time. Frank Lopardo, although with a good tenor voice, is unable to bring any depth to Alfredo due to his limited acting. Other than singing Alfredo's music lines (half the times with his eyes closed), he wasn't trying hard in his acting.
The freshness would be totally succeeded, if not for the staging that still falls into the conventions of its own tradition and some weaknesses in the acting, but still it is a great production, and Gheorghiu can be the only reason to own this DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Violetta imaginable
Review: On her web site, the first words you see is "World's Greatest Living Soprano". Unless I am missing something, some of the world greatest are still alive. This attitude now permiates everything Angela Gheorghiu does. Her acting is all about saying to the world "look at me, aren't I perfect?" There's an awful lack of any real feeling to her singing AND acting, everything is "plastic", just like in the world of pop music. The singing itself is breathy; "Semre Libera" is just chirpy, with weird facial expressions added. Yes, Angela is an attractive woman, but that's really about it. Try to for a moment to take a sober look at her performance itself, without being dazzled by good looks alone and you will see. Besides, she looks way too healthy on "deathbed" it's laughable. There are plenty of great Violettas recorded (just listen to Cortubas) or taped (Stratas). NONE (even a real diva Maria Callas) added so much arrogance to this role, Violetta is supposed to be vulnerable (!).
Frank Lopardo does a better job, but his lackluster middle register makes Alfredo sound rather dull, his acting is quite stiff, particularly set against wind-up toy movements of Gheorghiu. Leo Nucci is an okay Germont-peré. His essentially lyric baritone does not have the weight and authority of an old, callous entirely unpleasant character; he comes across more as a disillusioned romantic.
The real star of this performance is the late Sir Georg Solti. Even though Gheorghiu in her recent interview claimed that he just let her do her thing, he actually balanced and directed the performance with a firm hand. Of course, Kleiber, for instance, brought our more nuance, but Solti managed to enliven what would otherwise be a rather dull number.
Final note, when an artist this young aspires to be the "word's greatest" by simply wearing this title on her chest, it tends to take away a lot from the artistry itself. There are plenty of young sopranos with great voices (Voight, Dessay, Eaglen, to name just a few) that prefer to simply do their work well. Their music is their passion. For Gheorghiu, she herself is her passion. Neither the music, nor the audience benefits much from that.
Rating:
Summary: The Violetta is fabulous
Review: One of the seven operas on DVD released in June 2001 by Deutsche Grammophon is a <La Traviata> (071 431-9) from a 1995 Covent Garden production. Here Georg Solti leads the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House headed by Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Critic/commentator Albert Innaurato calls her "the most complete Violetta on video." Now he did not mean the best vocally or even physically or dramatically; but as a whole, she is the most satisfying. Where Stratas looks half dead throughout the Zeffirelli film and others simply look too healthy for Act III, Gheorghiu (who, by the way, never had sung this role before!) manages to look fragile at her own party, stunning all in black at Flora's, and "at death's door" in her squalid apartment, the walls of which seem to ascend forever toward heaven. Tenor Frank Lopardo has some sense of acting his part beyond generalized suffering and is in good voice. The only really jarring notes are the unpleasant makeup of Leo Nucci as the Father and his unpleasant voice, which did not seem to bother the appreciative audience that night. The Gypsy scene, for once, did not work too well, nor did the camping up of the Spanish number, unless one considers it part of the decadence of the world the heroine will soon be leaving. The scenery for the first act seemed unnecessarily cramped, a little rest area in Violetta's much larger home; but the unfinished state of the country home was just right. Were those pictures leaning against the wall waiting to be put up or taken away for sale? And the little swatches of wallpaper on the molding were a good touch. The shadows of the carnival revelers through the slats of the Act III scenery was also effective. Now and then, the voices would fade away as if too far from a microphone; and then the sound would swell up so suddenly that I kept diving for the volume control. Was this an engineering problem or did it sound like that in the theater? The audience is absolutely silent, keeping applause and cheers for the curtain calls. All things considered, this set is very worth having for the Violetta alone. The DVD runs 135 minutes in the 4:3 screen ratio with subtitles in English, French, German, and Chinese.
Rating:
Summary: The Violetta is fabulous
Review: One of the seven operas on DVD released in June 2001 by Deutsche Grammophon is a (071 431-9) from a 1995 Covent Garden production. Here Georg Solti leads the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House headed by Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Critic/commentator Albert Innaurato calls her "the most complete Violetta on video." Now he did not mean the best vocally or even physically or dramatically; but as a whole, she is the most satisfying. Where Stratas looks half dead throughout the Zeffirelli film and others simply look too healthy for Act III, Gheorghiu (who, by the way, never had sung this role before!) manages to look fragile at her own party, stunning all in black at Flora's, and "at death's door" in her squalid apartment, the walls of which seem to ascend forever toward heaven. Tenor Frank Lopardo has some sense of acting his part beyond generalized suffering and is in good voice. The only really jarring notes are the unpleasant makeup of Leo Nucci as the Father and his unpleasant voice, which did not seem to bother the appreciative audience that night. The Gypsy scene, for once, did not work too well, nor did the camping up of the Spanish number, unless one considers it part of the decadence of the world the heroine will soon be leaving. The scenery for the first act seemed unnecessarily cramped, a little rest area in Violetta's much larger home; but the unfinished state of the country home was just right. Were those pictures leaning against the wall waiting to be put up or taken away for sale? And the little swatches of wallpaper on the molding were a good touch. The shadows of the carnival revelers through the slats of the Act III scenery was also effective. Now and then, the voices would fade away as if too far from a microphone; and then the sound would swell up so suddenly that I kept diving for the volume control. Was this an engineering problem or did it sound like that in the theater? The audience is absolutely silent, keeping applause and cheers for the curtain calls. All things considered, this set is very worth having for the Violetta alone. The DVD runs 135 minutes in the 4:3 screen ratio with subtitles in English, French, German, and Chinese.
Rating:
Summary: ¡Brava, Angela!
Review: Para mi Angela Gheorghiu ES la Traviatta. Su interpretación es muy sentida y sincera, y su voz es de una indescriptible belleza . Tengo mucha ilusión por ver a Gheroghiu en vivo en este papel en el que ella se ha convertido a Violetta Valéry. Éste es el mejor DVD y una colección operística no será completa sin él.
Rating:
Summary: Quality Production
Review: The combination of Angela Gheorghiu and Frank Lopardo is enough to make any production shine. Add to it the incomparable Sir Georg Solti, the surprising, but always wonderful Leo Nucci and the amazing music of Verdi and you have a production that cannot be beaten. Gheorghiu's amazing ability to portray emotion in her face as well as her voice makes her stand out in the opera world. I get so tired of opera singers who can't act. Lopardo does a fine job, his voice more than makes up for his acting deficiencies.
It is widely recognized that this performance is what shot Angela Gheorghiu into superstardom and it is well-deserved. This is a Traviata not to be missed, an amazing interpretation of an amazing work.
Rating:
Summary: Superb in every way
Review: There is a lot of variation in opera quality on tape and disk. This one is superb in every way - singing, acting, conducting, sets, reproduction quality. Look at the facial expressions of Solti as he conducts - a tone poem in itself!
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