Verdi: La traviata DVD (Metropolitan Opera, 1982)
 

Cast: Teresa Stratas (Violetta), Placido Domingo (Alfredo), Cornell Macneil (Germont), Alan Monk (Duphol), Axell Gall (Flora), Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, James Levine (conductor). Franco Zeffirelli (director)

Originally filmed in 1982. First published in LaserDisc and VHS formats

Reissued in 1999 in DVD format and distributed by Universal Studios Home Video in north America (20326/region code 1/NTSC, with subtitles in English and French). No region 2 DVD release

Technical Details:
Aspect ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Running time: 105 minutes

Sung in Italian
 
Thrice-familiar as this film may be, it is still worth considering for a DVD collection? Since it has been a standard on tape and LaserDisc for two decades, musical, dramatic and production elements may be summed up briefly. The artists are well chosen for a more substantial reading than one usually encounters in the house. Apart from problems in the Act I final scene (which would no doubt have been corrected if a second audio taping had been allowed), Stratas cannot be faulted for her singing or her portrayal; she fascinates. Domingo is a stolid, unimaginative and therefore appropriate Alfredo, with his devotion evident in his solid vocalism. Macneil is even more clearly the rustic, almost boorish gentleman of the provinces.
 
The production is lavish, the cinematic effects well-chosen and well produced. If the recording lacks charm and Italian style, it pretends to no more than it delivers. The two major reasons for adding the DVD even if one has the tape are improvement in video and access through chapters. The picture is improved both in having the wider screen image which Zeffirelli intended and in more sharpness and detail than tape can offer. The little that surround sound offers can be realized as well with a proper tape or LaserDisc setup as from the DVD. Still, being able to skip chapters or to access a desired point in the film without searching is a substantial advantage. However, that is achieved even more effectively on the LaserDisc where one need not put up with the long, intrusive and objectionable introduction - selections from assorted Universal films. 'The Blues Brothers' may be to your taste, but having to watch excerpts in order to enjoy an opera is unlikely to be. Of course, that leadin is forced on the viewer even when she is only trying to show Violetta reading the letter.
 
Why then should one consider replacing the LaserDisc with the DVD. Its advantages include being able to suppress the subtitles or to show them in French and having some slightly informative supplements: Production notes; Cast and filmmaker biographies; the theatrical trailer; and a useless link to the WWW. However, the primary reason is finally to see the work in widescreen, 25% more horizontal image than was offered before. The result is more lyrical and more beautiful visually than either tape or LaserDisc; for some, that will be justification enough.
 
 
Michael Richter, 27 May 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.