Verdi's La Traviata for The Royal Opera featuring a star-studded cast available on DVD from the 2009 revival of Richard Eyre's critically acclaimed 1994 production. Royal Opera House's Musical Director Antonio Pappano conducts La Traviata for the first time at Covent Garden. The American soprano Renée Fleming in the title role of Violetta is joined by Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson.
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Violetta Valéry: Renée Fleming
Alfredo Germont: Joseph Calleja
Giorgio Germont: Thomas Hampson
Annina: Sarah Pring
Flora Bervoix: Monika-Evelin Liiv
Baron Douphol: Eddie Wade
Royal Opera Chorus
Chorus Director: Renato Balsadonna
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Concert Master: Vasko Vassilev
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Music: Giuseppe Verdi
Director: Richard Eyre
Designs: Bob Crowley
Lighting Design: Jean Kalman
Movement: Jane Gibson
Plus: Antonio Pappano interviews Renée Fleming; Cast Gallery
Picture: 16:9
Sound: 2.0 LPCM stereo / DTS 5.1 Surround
Format: NTSC
Region code: 0 worldwide
Running Time: 154 mins
Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/ES/CH
"Renée Fleming is in complete command as Verdi's courtesan, facing down the awesome difficulties of her big first act solo scene with assurance and maintaining a strong tone inflected with appropriate colours... [Calleja] presents an ideal combination of the vulnerable and the headstrong... Antonio Pappano takes charge of this revival, searching out the meaning of Verdi's score in a supple, sentient reading that sweeps you along." The Guardian
"[On Fleming] But what a sound it is and how – in true bel canto fashion – it shapes and defines the emotion. The little hairpin dynamics, the wistful portamenti, the way in her climactic act one aria she takes time to savour the 'mysterious', 'exalted' tone of the music culminating in a real (and properly ecstatic) trill." The Independent
"I was sniffy about her [Fleming] first night but this DVD comes from later in the run, by which time she had found an uncharacteristic emotional freedom. She is still the prima donna playing the part, but the beautiful sounds she makes, especially in the Act One finale and the Act Two party, are well worth hearing, and the high-quality film-work puts us right at the heart of the action." Financial Times