Verdi: La Traviata à Paris - The Soundtrack at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

La Traviata A Paris: Preludio - Zubin Mehta
Atto Primo: 'Dell'invito Trascorsa E Gia L'ora' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Primo: Brindisi 'Libiamo, Libiamo Ne'lieti Calici' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Primo: 'Che E Cio?' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Primo: 'Oh! Qual Pallor!' - Jose Cura
Atto Primo: 'Un Di Felice' - Jose Cura
Atto Primo: 'Si Ridesta In Ciel L'aurora' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Primo: 'E Strano! E Strano!...Ah, Fors'e Lui' - Eteri Gvazava
Atto Primo: 'Follie! ... Sempre Libera' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'Lunge Da Lei' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'De'miei Bollenti Spiriti' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'Annina, Donde Vieni?' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'Oh Mio Rimorso!' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'Alfredo?' - Rolando Panerai
Atto Secondo: 'Pura Siccome Un Angelo' - Rolando Panerai
Atto Secondo: 'Dite Alla Giovine' - Rolando Panerai
Atto Secondo: 'Dammi Tu Forza, O Cielo' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'Ah, Vive Sol Quel Core' - Rolando Panerai
Atto Secondo: 'Di Provenza Il Mar' - Rolando Panerai

Music CD 2

Atto Secondo: 'Avrem Lieta Di Maschere La Notte' - Raphaelle Farman
Atto Secondo: 'Noi Siamo Zingarelle' - Raphaelle Farman
Atto Secondo: 'Di Madride Noi Siam Matadori' - Raphaelle Farman
Atto Secondo: 'Alfredo! Voi!' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Secondo: 'Invitato A Qui Seguirmi' - Jose Cura
Atto Secondo: 'Ogni Suo Aver' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Secondo: 'Di Sprezzo Degno' - Nicolas Rivenq
Atto Terzo: Preludio - Zubin Mehta
Atto Terzo: 'Annina? - Commandate?' - Eteri Gvazava
Atto Terzo: 'Teneste La Promessa' - Eteri Gvazava
Atto Terzo: 'Addio, Del Passato Bei Sogni' - Eteri Gvazava
Atto Terzo: 'Largo Al Quadrupede Sir Della Festa' - Emanuela di Pietro
Atto Terzo: 'Signora... - Che T'accadde?' - Jose Cura
Atto Terzo: 'Parigi, O Cara, Noi Lasceremo' - Jose Cura
Atto Terzo: 'Ah! Gran Dio! Morir Si Giovane' - Jose Cura
Atto Terzo: 'Ah! Violetta! - Voi, Signor' - Rolando Panerai
Atto Terzo: 'Se Una Pudica Vergine' - Rolando Panerai

Music reviews of Verdi: La Traviata à Paris - The Soundtrack

Music Review: good but not great
Rating: 3 Stars

OK, some of you may want to find a different presentation of the old classic, in that sense, you probably won't be disappointed by the musical portion of it (if you can overlook the one role I mentioned above), but for those of you looking for the DVD, I would suggest to stop that search right now, not because it is not available in stores, but because of its less than pleasing visual presentation.

The raison d'etre of this sound recording is the made-for-television event of broadcasting from Paris, purportedly made by the same crew that made the Tosca from Rome. While Tosca from Rome was a live performance, a grand artistic tour de force, this TV film was made in such an amateurish fashion, that it looks like the entire crew had a lobotomy after the first success. The direction, the use of cameras (angles, movement, etc.), as well as the acting evoked from the performers are horrendous. The under-the-table scene in Act I is unnecessary, and looks to be a copy from Boheme; the use of Steadycam (it is mounted on the cameraman, and his going and stopping give the feeling of discontinuity) gimmick is not much of an improvement from Dave Letterman's Monkeycam years ago; and the camera angle and zoom is very curious, the director seems to like to place obstacles, like tree leaves, tall grass, furniture, and other things, between the camera and performers. I was so distracted by his constant obscuring of Germont and Violetta's faces in Act II that I kept thinking "ticks, ticks, ticks" when they walked into the overgrown tall grass, and "will she scream if she finds a worm" when they kept walking into the hanging willow leaves. 8-)

I may appear to be a little cynical, but my point is that if it fails to capture the attention of the audience, the director failed his job. This production's visual part is full of unsuccessful experiments, it is painful to watch. So if you have to get this performance, get the CD version, but stay away from the video (get the Zefferelli version instead to see how it's supposed to be done).