Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: La Traviata
From: Ken Sherrill <KSSHC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Wednesday, 26 Aug 1992 15:52:29 EDT
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center

Traviata is one of those operas seemingly impossible to do right. There are a
few very good recordings; none are perfect. The Moffo/Tucker/Merrill/Previtali
is so proficient that it seems routine. I believe no soprano has sung more Vio-
lettas at the Met than Moffo. Her performance is perfectly crafted and creamily
sung. She creates a much more detailed character than most Violettas and hits
more notes more accurately than most. Tucker is one of the few Alfredos on re-
cord to take the part seriously and who has enough vocal heft to get through
the role's big climaxes. (I am tempted to start a thread on the appropriate
vocal weights in Traviata.) Merrill sings beautifully and never seems bored.
All three were generous performers, used to putting on a good show for their
audiences. This comes through in the recording. It's major drawbacks are Previ-
tali's lackluster conducting and too many "traditional" cuts.

A second wonderful recording is, of course, the Toscanini with Albanese, Peerce
and Merrill. All are in good voice -- esp. Toscanini ;-) -- and give committed
and generally musical performances. Albanese's coloratura is not what we expect
from a Violetta these days (as, say, Milanov's is not for a Trovatore Leonora--
but don't get me onto the proper vocal weights for Traviata) and the sound is
tubby. Again, the score is heavily cut.

The Carteri/Valetti/Warren/Monteux is a gem of a performance -- if you like a
small-scaled traviata. Certainly, no recorded Germont is more beautifully sung
than Warren's. The Di Provenza is textbook legato singing. Valetti isintelli-
gent and musicianly; he has a lovely voice, but it is too light for the part.
If I come to Violetta last, it is only because Carteri doesn't reach the
heights of her partners. Nevertheless, she is a fine Violetta.

Now we start getting to the problems. I believe that Violetta, Gilda, and Leo-
nora in Trovatore should be sung by sopranos whose voices have similar weights.
Callas, to my ears, makes this clear in all three roles. Moffo could have done
Trovatore in a small house. She had the weight, if not the thrust. As   purely
athletic events, Sutherland sails through the three parts (with nary a conso-
nant to show in any of them). I can't picture Caballe as Gilda, but I can ima-
gine how well it would sound. I suspect that La Studer will be just fine when
she gets around to all three.

Callas' Lisbon Traviata is just fine, thank you, if you think Alfredo Kraus is
right for Alfredo, don't mind the sound, the coducting, the prompter, and Mario
Sereni's somnolent Germont.

Once we get past the Violetta problem, we have to find an Alfredo. I once heard
a tenor explain that he hated the part because he has to sing his heart out,
only to be eclipsed by one of the other characters. Violetta ends the first act
with Sempre Libera; Germont ends the next scene with Di Provenza; Alfredo has
very heavy sining in the Act 2 scene 2 ensembles, yet he doesn't stand out. The
last act is the Violetta's. What this may mean is that many good tenors avoid
bookings in the part and/or become alienated from it because their hard work is
not rewarded. On records, Tucker, Peerce, Pavarotti, Valetti, and to a lesser
extent, Bergonzi, give fine and committed performances. Domingo and other
Alfredos rarely rise above the routine.

I was at one of Maria Callas' master classes when she asked a young baritone if
he could sing Di Provenza. She said, "I know it's boring. I just want to see if
you've been working on your legato." This was about twenty years ago. I keep on
thinking that as soon as Germont has completed his duet with Violetta, the
character turns to cardboard -- or in the case of too many baritones, wood. I
don't think most first-rate baritones find the part interesting.

Finally, Traviata is not as much of a conductor's opera as, say, Rigoletto or
Trovatore. Toscanini, Monteux, Levine and Kleiber are among the few major con-
ductors to record Traviata. Kleiber's is not on a level with his other opera-
tic recordings. Levine has never shown particular affinity for the score. The
other two are dead.

I remember seeing lots of wonderful performances of Traviata. A great soprano
can carry the night in the theater much more readily than she can make a record
ing a classic. Perhaps it takes a special conductor to galvanize a tenor and a
baritone who are recording a soprano's opera.