Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Carlo Sabajno, La Scala Theater Orchestra :: Verdi: La Traviata

Pleasing historic "La Traviata"

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 06/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Source: Studio recording, the first complete electrical "La Traviata."



Sound: Not bad for a performance well into its eighth decade. The orchestra and chorus sound rather distant and a bit muddied, but the solo voices are clear and nicely caught.



Text: This performance contains the cuts typical of its time.



Documentation: No libretto. Nothing on the cast. Nothing on the circumstances of the recording. Short summary of the plot. Track list that does not identify who is singing or provide timings.



Finding an entirely satisfactory "Traviata" is something of an endless quest. I have two "Rigolettos" that I would unhesitatingly recommend to anyone. Five of my "Trovatores" are equally excellent. But every "Traviata" seems to have a fatal flaw. Sopranos who can astound in Act I, bore in Act IV. Sopranos who couldn't find their way through "Sempre libera" with a map and compass break your heart when they dream about returning to Paris. Sopranos who can handle all four acts are lumbered with tenors who are too old, too powerful, too beefy, too self-confident, too star-like, too something-or-other to be convincing as that callow, shallow schoolboy, Alfredo Germont. If the soprano and the tenor are just right, as when Callas joined forces with Cesare Valletti, the rest of the recording turns out to be terrible. Sometimes, just plain weird things happen, as when Arturo Toscanini unwittingly turned "Sempre libera" into a duet for himself and Licia Albanese.



All this is by way of preface to my saying that this ancient "Traviata" recording is not bad. Not bad at all. Pretty good, as a matter of fact. There is the feel of a real performance.



The soprano, Anna Rozsa, had apparently never essayed the role of Violetta on stage prior to making this recording. I certainly would not have guessed it from what is on the disk. She sounds young, as the historical person on whom Violetta was based certainly was. And she sounds convincing throughout. Later in her career, she was regarded secure enough to tackle "Lucia" with no less formidable a tenor than the great Aureliano Pertile.



Alfredo is sung by Alessandro Ziliani. Some years ago, the good, gray Gramophone Magazine praised Ziliani as a true romantic Italian tenor, "a lighter, lesser Lauri-Volpi." He provides an elegant, youthful performance that blends nicely with Rosza's. His voice is pleasing, although his vibrato sometimes verges on the excessive. (That may be an artifact of this particular recording, because the fault does not show up on his recital disk.) Ziliani had a longish career. He was around in 1952 to appear on the Callas recording of Rossini's "Armida."



Luigi Borgonovo, as the older Germont, appears to have been the designated old pro on the set. He offers a fine performance, particularly in the Act II confrontation with Violetta.



The conductor, Carlo Sabajno, as always, offers a lively and intelligent performance.



All in all, this is that rarest of "Traviatas," a good, solid, enjoyable performance."