La Traviata

I doubt if Giuseppe Verdi ever heard of Sigmund Freud (Verdi died a year after the publication of "The Interpretation of Dreams"), but many of his operas have strong Oedipal undercurrents. Typically they revolve around a dashing young lover, a somewhat sinister father figure, and a heroine torn between love and duty. "La Traviata" is Verdi's most accessible opera and probably the most frequently recorded. The only one of his works based on a contemporary subject, along with "Carmen" it is one of the foundational works of verismo (although the conventions of the time forced it to be staged in the period of Louis XIV until 1906!) and dramatically, though not musically, functions as a proto-Puccini opera. There are obvious parallels with "La Boheme": the Paris setting, the consumptive heroine, even the feminine article in the title.This recording has perhaps the strongest vocal cast of any. Joan Sutherland's Italian diction may be mushy (she sometimes sounds like she's singing with cotton in her mouth) but it is refreshing to hear a true dramatic coloratura in a role often given to lyric sopranos who come to grief in the role's florid moments. She tosses off the most demanding passages with almost insolent aplomb, and her high notes are awe-inspiring. Carlo Bergonzi is my favorite tenor in the Italian repertory (just as Wolfgang Windgassen was my favorite in the German wing) and he does not disappoint here, sounding appropriately youthful as the callow and immature Alfredo. His phrasing is exemplary. Before he became a New York icon for singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Yankee games, Robert Merrill was one of the finest of a long line of American Verdi baritones (including Lawrence Tibbett, Leonard Warren, Cornell McNeil and Sherril Milnes). This is actually the third studio recording Merrill made of the elder Germont, the other two being the legendary Toscanini set with Licia Albanese and Jan Peerce, and the excellent Fernando Previtali set with Anna Moffo and Richard Tucker. Merrill is authoritative as the father figure and his Italian diction is exemplary. He is less hammy here than in other roles, but his rich, virile baritone remains undiminished. Although the score is performed uncut, John Pritchard moves the performance along at a fast clip, clocking in at 2 hours 12 minutes. The orchestral sound is splendid, the chorus is first-rate, and the secondary roles are carefully cast. This recording has everything a lover of bel canto could desire.

my favorite traviata had been always bonynge/sutherland/pavarotti's version, but this one is as good as it gets, sutherland is supperb in both of them , bergonzi is verdi's heroic tenor by excelence & merrill is one of the best baritons of the 20th century. pritchard direction of this uncutted early stereo version of traviata is ver good. i readed someone complaining about the sound like being recorded in a bathroom, i really don't share that opinion, the sound is well balanced, if you wanna hear something recorded in a steam room of a sauna, get the sonnambula's command perfiormance by sutherland also 60's early stereo, that is really recorded under water, but the performance is so good you have to have it, the best in recorded history. in the 80's on tape this was one of my first traviatas, after caballe's & cotrubas & before bonynge's. now on cd is my 6th one after sutherland/pasvarotti/bonynge's, studder/pavarotti/levine's (pavarotti has no voice over there; he sounds like raul gimenez) sills/gedda/cecatto's, gheorgiu/lopardo/solti's (horrible. i sent it last month as a birthday pressent to someone; the worst traviatta i've ever heard after the cutted all over cotrubas/domingo version) & caballe/bergonzi/petre's & i'm stopping here. no more traviatas for me... or is it?

Just the most beautiful Traviata I ever heard. Great to get as a refreshingly different interpretation of this over recorded work.Bergonzi and Sutherland at their prime-what more could you want. And as for those who complain about Pritchard's conducting being so slow-it works great with these singers.one last thing-the price! best bargain you can get for an opera cd

I must admit that I purchased this recording from another vendor. This recording, made in November 1962, features a Joan Sutherland at her very best. Her voice is huge and young and fresh and beautiful and not matronly as in her 1979 Traviata recording. She never sounded better than this. Her "Sempre libera" is sung with a freedom and excitement that is unparalleled. She flies up to the High C's and E-flat as if they were child's play. The coloratura work is done with great agility and at lightning speed. If, like me, your most important prerequisite is tonal beauty, you will find it here--in spades. Her Alfredo, Carlo Bergonzi, is also singing at his best with none of the dryness of tone that appears in his voice just a few years later. Her Germont, Robert Merrill, is still in his prime and is splendid in the role. This is a "dream cast" and, honestly, is the only complete "La Traviata" recording that I have listened to for years. But, if intense portrayal of deep emotion is your most important requirement in a Violetta, you might try Beverly Sills. Her acting in the last act is very moving and credible, but she shows vocal fragility in the "Sempre libera", and you also have to put up with Nicolai Gedda--and that I just won't do.

I have been looking for ages for the complete La Traviata. Traditionally bits have been cut. True Sutherland is not the most exiting Violetta. Her technique is second to none, but there her performance doesn't move you to tears. There have been better Violettas and in my eyes Callas is still unrivalled. But this is the famous 1962 recording from the Maggio Fiorentino with Bergonzi and Merrill. To be enjoyed

I have listened to and loved classical music for years, but shunned opera...squally sopranos, silly stories etc. I have started with some famous works like this. I must have heard some of the melodies before. Joan Sutherland had a magnificent voice, and the part of Violetta is a bit like a concerto for soprano. She carries it off beautifully but murders the Italian language! Her diction is poor. But my goodness, she hits the notes. And isn't squally. I like this Decca series for the listening guides (no librettos).

What can I say, bought this cd because I was exposed to opera a good deal as a youngster and now as an almost 50 year old man found out that i really enjoy this kind of music... Well this was recorded one month before I was born... just found out by reading the notes.Given this fact i'm blown away about how good the recording is. Besides all this sentimental and technical talk, this is a very enjoyablepiece of art!

excellent

Great works fine delivered on time would use seller again