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Verdi: La Traviata / Levine, Studer, Pavarotti, Pons


Release Date: 02/16/1993 
Label:  Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog #: 435797   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:  Wendy White,  Sondra Kelly,  Luciano Pavarotti,  Juan Pons,   ... 
Conductor:  James Levine
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Metropolitan Opera Chorus,  Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 2 Hours 2 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Some ‘complete’ recordings of La traviata turn out to be less complete than others. But this one includes every note that Verdi wrote, as well as, in the case of Pavarotti’s Act II cabaletta, a top C that he didn’t. It is splendidly sung by all three principal singers and a supporting cast of Met regulars, giving the feeling less of a studio recording than of a performance in the theatre.

Cheryl Studer’s warmth and roundness of tone are well to the fore in the later acts of the opera, and she also has the flexibility for Act I’s ‘Sempre libera’. She makes a most vulnerable and appealing Violetta, especially affecting in the second-act finale. Pavarotti may no longer be a convincing Alfredo on stage, but here he is at his most Read more impressive, singing with ardent tone, the purest Italian diction of any tenor since Bergonzi, and a fine appreciation of middle-period Verdi style.

Juan Pons is an eloquent and sympathetic Germont Père, whose firm characterization is particularly effective in his Act II confrontation with Studer’s Violetta. Here, and throughout the opera, the contribution of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under James Levine is first-rate. The chorus, too, whose function is integral to La traviata, perform with the confidence and conviction of authentic opera choristers.

Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5)

-- Charles Osborne, BBC Music Magazine
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Works on This Recording

1. La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:  Wendy White (Mezzo Soprano), Sondra Kelly (Alto), Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Juan Pons (Baritone), Anthony Laciura (Tenor), Bruno Pola (Baritone),
Jeffrey Wells (Tenor), Julien Robbins (Bass), John Hanriot (Tenor),
Ross Crolius (Bass), Mitchell Sendrowitz (Baritone), Cheryl Studer (Soprano)
Conductor:  James Levine
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Metropolitan Opera Chorus,  Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1853; Italy 
 Date of Recording: 06/1991 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City 
Length: 122 Minutes 12 Secs. 
Language: Italian 

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