La Traviata
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The future of DVD and Internet Opera Aftonbladet Kjell Häglund 14 March 2001
José Cura and Eteri Gvazava as Alfredó and Violetta in the innovative La Traviata à Paris The Italian opera magazine L'Opera editorialized that last year's magnificent TV happening La Traviata à Paris did not have "a damn thing to do with Verdi but was merely a hysterical hybrid of multimedia and TV aesthetics," of a kind that will "ultimately lead to the death of opera." Only in the opera's arch-reactionary homeland can one write like this at a time when opera is finally being reborn as an art form. José Cura, who is so fantastic in the TV Traviata, went on a refreshingly aggressive counterattack in the English newspaper Opera Now: "An idiot in Italy's largest daily newspaper wrote that the microphones that the singers used were the equivalent of Viagra" but “I thank all these people who resist evolution, because they make fighaters on the other side, stronger fighters.” Cura is full of frustration because he is passionate about opera's modernization. But he really should not have to engage in any defense whatsoever. Of course, there were surprisingly few opera critics who dared to pay tribute to the Traviata film immediately after the broadcast, but more have gradually joined us who dared to love the work from the first trembling seconds of live broadcast. Opera lovers in general were not as fearful as the critics, but embraced the show with same passion that requested a quick replay and release on DVD. And right here rests the entire opera's future - and it is far more high-tech than José Cura's hidden microphones. It comes not only in the new generation of hi-tech opera houses, but also in a growing stream of live broadcasts on the internet and, above all, in the fast-growing range of DVDs that are replacing the market for opera videos. Unlike outdated video, DVD technology is made for opera. The first to take this into account has been the German Arthaus, who quickly vacuumed the US and Europe on available recordings, both older TV productions and newer digital recordings, and with half a dozen new films a month has put together a superb catalog of over 50 titles. All that remains is that the release will come a little more in step with the times.
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La Traviata a Paris DVD: “The Traviata leads were clearly chosen for their looks rather than their musical suitability. José Cura is the rare tenor who can show up in an undershirt without embarrassment, but his leathery dramatic tenor is a poor fit for Alfredo.” Opera News, June 2017
La Traviata a Paris DVD: “An ultra-realistic version of La Traviata . The sumptuous production made use of the Russian soprano Eteri Gvazava, a beautiful and moving Violetta, while the Argentine tenor Josè Cura was a convincing Alfredo and the Italian baritone Rolando Panerai, an energetic Giorgio Germont. The hidden star was naturally the technology to enhance the show.” New York Times
La Traviata a Paris DVD: “A musical and dramatic triumph, as well as one of the most extraordinary technological feats of recent years. The production proved to be magnificent, flowing beautifully into real-life locations and the work of director Giuseppe Patroni Griffi was exceptional.” Independent
La Traviata a Paris DVD: “Opera marries great cinema to generate the TV of the future. All to make us experience the emotion of an opera transformed into reality before our eyes by that genius of the show that is Andrea Andermann. Perhaps the most beautiful thing about this Traviata is its ability to live outside of time. It starts from 1848, passes through 1900 and reaches 2000 exactly as if it were the same thing.” The XIX Century
La Traviata a Paris DVD: “José Cura‘s Alfredo is worldlier and more knowing than Gvazava’s Violetta, which cannot be right, but he is the principal trio’s standout. He is good-looking and a good actor, with a divo’s presence, but his brooding, intense Alfredo suggests a duded-up Don Alvaro.” Parterre Box, 16 January 2017 |
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