Renata Scotto And Jose Carreras In Traviata
Santa Fe Listener | 01/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a sumptuous, highly Italianate Traviata featuring the glorious voices of Renata Scotto and Jose Carreras in top form as Alfredo and Violetta. The sound is superb and the performance is one of the best on record. Sadly, it's underrated as Renata Scotto is hardly remembered for her Violetta. It was her Madama Butterfly that earned her lasting fame. But as the delicate and passionate Violetta she is wonderfully expressive and emotive, her voice a dramatic mix of beauty and strength. Carreras sings a superb Alfredo, with dark texture and elegance. This is a great recording."
If only the sound were just a little better...
Bill | West Hartford, CT | 12/06/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I am not generally a fan of Scotto; yet this recording, placed in between her studio efforts at Violetta (early 60s--too bland, and the too-late one with Kraus--too acidly sung), reveals her to be as close to an ideal Violetta one is likely ever to hear. She always had a secure coloratura technique, absolutely required for Act 1. Yet many sopranos with the agility for Act 1 don't always have the gravitas and sensitivity, not to mention the vocal richness, for the balance of the opera. Put simply, Scotto does. Every phrase is illuminated with some insight--but she never sounds as mannered as she seemed to become later, when she was covering up for having sung far too many roles outside her capabilities. Make no mistake--this is a great performance from her, with no apologies necessary for vocal problems or dramatic blandness. If not as purely beautiful as Caballe, she's far more alert dramatically; she has the characterization more sharply limned than Sutherland. She sings better than Cotrubas. She has a better supporting cast than de los Angeles, an unjustifiably overlooked Violetta on records.
Carreras is captured here just a few years before his international fame began with his Philips recording contract. His voice is absolutely beautiful. One can forget just how pure and perfect he could sound before the wrong roles in the wrong houses and the subsequent near-fatal illness stripped him of his lyrical voice with its excellent training.
The sound is not excellent, but it is not nearly as compromised as some live opera recordings, especially those issued on cheaper labels. It's vastly superior to Callas' live recordings. If this had been recorded properly, in a house where the acoustics lent themselves to "live" recordings, this performance would easily stand the test of time.
Recommended highly.
"
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1