Verdi - La Traviata DVD 1995 / Directed by Franco Zeffirelli / The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus / Conducted by James Levine / Unitel Classica - Deutsche Grammophon / Stratas - Domingo, Macneil

UPC 044007343647

REGION 0 NTSC DVD (ALL REGIONS)

MADE IN HUNGARY

AUDIO: Italian 2.0

Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese

Total Runtime: 105 minutes

English Summary:

Franco Zeffirelli directs Giuseppe Verdi's LA TRAVIATA. Features Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas.

La traviata (Italian pronunciation: [la traˈvjaːta]; The Fallen Woman) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La Dame aux camélias (1852), a play adapted from the 1848 novel by Alexandre Dumas fils. The opera was originally titled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at La Fenice opera house in Venice.

Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer's and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged. La traviata has become immensely popular and is among the most frequently performed of all operas.

Franco Zeffirelli directed La Traviata in 1983, with Teresa Stratas as Violetta, Plácido Domingo as Alfredo, and Cornell MacNeil as Giorgio Germont.

“Stratas not only sings magnificently but also looks the role ... She is a screen presence as riveting to watch as to listen to ... Having cast the film very close to perfection, Zeffirelli has staged it in a way that serves both the film and the grandeur of the score” (New York Times).

METROPOLITAN OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS

CONDUCTOR AND MUSIC DIRECTOR: JAMES LEVINE

WRITTEN, DIRECTED AND DESIGNED BY FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI

COSTUMES: PIERO TOSI

PRODUCED BY TARAK BEN AMMAR

Cast

Violetta Valery - Teresa Stratas

Flora Bervoix - Axelle Gall

Annina - Pina Cei

Alfredo Germont - Placido Domingo

Giorgio Germont - Cornell Macneil

Gastone - Maurizio Barbacini

Barone Douphol - Allan Monk

Dancers - Ekaterina Maximova, Vladimir Vassiliev, Gabriella Borni