VIDEO – VERDI: La Traviata
Discography
Verdi: La Traviata
Venera Gimadieva (Violetta), Michael Fabiano (Alfredo), Tassis Christoyannis (Germont), Emanuele D’Aguanno (Gastone), Magdalena Molendowska (Annina), Hanna Hipp (Flora), Eddie Wade (Baron Douphol)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus, Mark Elder (conductor) & Tom Cairns (director).
[Elder’s] handling of the score is a revelation; nothing here is routine…one is overwhelmed by the beauty of the playing and of the work. Cairns’s production is quite excellent, with strong, vivid characterisation of even the minor figures…
BBC Music Magazine, October 2015, ****
Release Date: 29th Jun 2015
Catalogue No: OABD7169D
Label: Opus Arte
Series: Glyndebourne
Verdi: La Traviata
About
Reviews
Running time: 132 minutes
Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/JP/KO
Sound format: LPCM stereo/DTS Master Audio 5.1 (BLU-RAY)
Verdi’s tragic masterpiece is elegantly updated by director Tom Cairns in this ‘fresh and thrillingly unfamiliar' (Independent) Glyndebourne production, in which Violetta’s death is cast as an idée fixe, creating a liberating framework that is well supported by Hildegard Bechtler’s semi-abstract designs. Described as a soprano of ‘huge presence, compelling to watch’, Venera Gimadieva is ‘thrilling’ (Guardian) in her company debut as the doomed courtesan, well matched by Michael Fabiano’s sharply suited and ‘robustly-sung’ Alfredo (Financial Times), with Tassis Christoyannis delivering an imposing performance as the formidable Germont Père. Conductor Mark Elder reveals his mastery of the opera’s dramatic shape, coaxing each and every nuance out of the London Philharmonic Orchestra to create beautifully stylish music-making.
- Extra Features: Verdi’s La traviata - ‘Once heard, never forgotten’, ‘An opera for all times’, and a Cast Gallery.
CREDITS
https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/
Contents
Verdi: La Traviata
London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus
Mark Elder (conductor) & Tom Cairns (director)
Venera Gimadieva (Violetta), Michael Fabiano (Alfredo), Tassis Christoyannis (Germont), Emanuele D’Aguanno (Gastone), Magdalena Molendowska (Annina), Hanna Hipp (Flora), Eddie Wade (Baron Douphol)
Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, July 2014
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE - October 2015
"[Elder's] handling of the score is a revelation; nothing here is routine...one is overwhelmed by the beauty of the playing and of the work. Cairns's production is quite excellent, with strong, vivid characterisation of even the minor figures...Gimadieva sings what is famously a difficult role...most impressively. Her acting is vivid too...Alfredo is ideally sung and acted by Michael Fabiano, youthful, impetuous and intense, with a ringing voice."
****
GRAMOPHONE - November 2015
"the transfer to the small screen enhances some subtleties (especially of the stronger first half) and lets Venera Gimadieva's Violetta feel like a Gheorgiu-like success of a star on the cusp. The Russian soprano has, and shows skilfully, a grasp of the situations in which the character finds herself that is not only telegraphically clear but most un-prima-donna-ish…Gimadeva (whose coloratura is as consistently immaculate as the rest of her performance) is well supported by her fluently voiced if slightly stiff American Alfredo and the smaller roles."