Verdi’s tale of ‘forbidden love’ opened the 80th Season
To commemorate Giuseppe Verdi’s 200th birthday, the Florentine opened its 80th Anniversary season in grand opera style with Verdi’s most beloved tale of star-crossed lovers. Elizabeth Caballero (Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni 2006) returned as the wayward Violetta, Rolando Sanz made his Florentine debut as her one true love, Alfredo, and Mark Walters debuted with us as his father, Giorgio Germont. William Florescu directed the all-star cast and Maestro Joseph Mechavich (Susannah 2012) returned to conduct the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Florentine Opera Chorus for Milwaukee audiences.
Click Here To Read: Paul Kosidowski Milwaukee Magazine – Culture Club Review Of Opening Night!
Click Here To Read: Elaine Schmidt Of The Journal Sentinel’s Review Of Opening Night!
Click Here To Listen Online: Wpr’s ‘lunch Hour’ On La Traviata Featuring Music Live Piano Samples And Commentary By Norman Gilliland, General Director William Florescu, & Maestro Joseph Mechavich!
Click Here To Read: The Shepherd’s Steve Spice Interviews William Florescu In This Preview For La Traviata.
Click Here To Read: The Journal’s Elaine Schmidt Previews La Traviata.
Click Here To Read: Wisconsin Gazette’s Michael Muckian Previews La Traviata.
The following is a companion piece to the pre-performance talks:
La Traviata on DVD and CD
by Corliss Phillabaum, PhD
INTRODUCTION
Hello,
Since my last survey ten years ago of recordings of La Traviata the world of opera recording has changed radically. The decline in the number of new CD versions of operas has continued, with only three new releases of La Traviatasince my last survey. All of the other CD recordings I discuss originated prior to 2003. On the other hand, the number of new versions released on DVD has escalated, with thirteen of the twenty-one versions discussed here released after 2003. Clearly DVD has become the preferred medium for recording operas today.
Since many versions are discussed here, I have grouped them into the categories listed in the links below.
The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Florentine Opera or its staff.
Sincerely,
Dr. Corliss Phillabaum
LINKS
DVD
2. Runners-up
3. Elements of Interest, Significant Limitations
CD
2. Runners-up
3. Callas
