From: conrad@brahms.udel.edu (Jon Conrad)
Subject: Re: La Traviata
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 13:11:40 GMT

In article <1992Aug24.163543.1@gsbacd.uchicago.edu> ca_ac@gsbacd.uchicago.edu writes:

>La Traviata. On the face of it this is surprising since it is one of the most 
>popular operas in the repertory and I'm sure would be a contender as an opera
>(unless I am much mistaken) on many people's short list of operas, as opposed 
>to opera recordings. Certainly my list would have it. 

I think there's not much doubt that most lists would.

>...none of the available
>recordings are completely satisfying even though some are succesful in many 
>respects. Again, on the face of it, this (to me) is surprising since it is a 
>relatively short opera with quite a simple plot and requiring only three 
>principals. 

>   What can be the reason for this? 

>	I would like to know what people think about the above issue. Perhaps
>there is a simple answer as to why we do not have an ideal La Traviata on
>disc. 

Actually, I think there is.  Just chance, and bad luck.  PLUS the fact
that the role of Violetta offers so many opportunities to a good
soprano, that we carry a kind of image in our might of all that *might*
be done with it, and even a very good performance on records might
not satisfy our idea of the ultimate.

But about that bad luck.  Maria Callas, of course, played a great role
in defining the possibilities of Violetta in modern times.  It was one
of the first roles that Angel wanted to record with her when they signed
a contract with her.  Yet her old contract with Cetra wouldn't release
her for this (she owed them one more), so her early and unfinished
recording of the opera for them is her only commercial legacy of the
opera, while Angel had to use Antonietta Stella for theirs.

Had contractual problems been worked out, and Callas been able to record
Traviata with a young Di Stefano, plus Gobbi, with Giulini or Karajan
conducting, that might have been IT for this opera, and we could
confidently put it on our lists along with her first Tosca.  (There are
several good pirates of her Violetta floating around, though none with
exactly these combinations.)

But there are in fact some good recordings.  Just not heart-satisfyingly
ideal enough for me (at least) to confidently put them on The List.

A 1950s RCA version with Rosanna Carteri, Cesare Valetti, and Leonard
Warren, conducted by Monteux, is quite exquisite.

The later RCA with Moffo, Tucker, and Merrill, conducted by Previtali,
is also beautiful (it reminds us what a genuine talent Moffo had), and
was the recording from which I learned to love the opera.

As for the Kleiber, I would disagree with you in blaming the conductor:
his work sounds just fine to me.  But there is a problem with it in that
(in the modern opera-conductor style) he is giving his ideal performance
on his own, not taking into account the singers he's actually working
with.  So maybe our perceptions aren't so different after all.  Also,
Cotrubas by this point was indulging the bad vocal habits that
eventually ended her career so prematurely: darkening and covering the
tone in a foolish attempt to sound more "dramatic", with a resultant
loss of control over intonation and focus.  Still, this is the recording
I have on my shelves these days.

About your other question (great operas without a great recording), I
think many of us would turn to Mozart: Don Giovanni has had a lot of
very good recordings, but there's always something "off" somewhere, it
seems.  My favorite's the Giulini, but I have to excuse a Giovanni who's
less than ideally charismatic.

And, as we've discussed, Die Meistersinger.  Many good recordings, none
quite hits the spot.

Jon Alan Conrad
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical