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Verdi's La Traviata
	Topic by: kaream Posted: July 23, 2008 - 3:41 PM PDT Last Reply: July 25, 2008 - 5:26 PM PDT

author	topic: Verdi's La Traviata
kaream	post #1  on July 23, 2008 - 3:41 PM PDT   Even though it's a frowned-upon practice, I'm going to duplicate here a post from the Request Thread, just in case someone might be rummaging through this MUSIC heading rather than keeping up with general requests: > On July 23, 2008 - 5:25 AM PDT kaream wrote: > --------------------------------- > This isn't a request for myself, because today I received my very own copy as a gift -- > > but if anyone is interested in watching the most incredible performance of Verdi's La Traviata ever committed to DVD, start bombarding GreenCine's catalog department with requests for this 2005 Salzburg Festival production starring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon. > > This is a very modern staging; it couldn't be more different from the very lush -- even over-the-top -- 1982 Zeffirelli film with Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo. Several clips of Netrebko and Villazon are posted at YouTube; try this one, and go on from there, keeping in mind that the sound quality of the YouTube posts is nothing like what's on the DVD. > > I like the Zeffirelli; it's the one I've recommended to people in the past -- but I've always been dissatisfied with several aspects of it, and wished for something better. And now here it is. The singing is superb throughout; and just as important to me, Carlo Rizzi leads the Vienna Philharmonic in the best Verdian interpretation of the score I've ever heard, whether live or on CD. > > This is a live stage performance in Salzburg, but there's no audience noise whatever; and the camera work is perfect. I just can't recommend this one highly enough. Subtitles, if you like them, are available in Italian, English, German, French, Spanish and Chinese (!). > ---------------------------------
underdog	post #2  on July 24, 2008 - 11:30 AM PDT   We've added Verdi's La Traviata as a request title for now. Request away! We're on the prowl for it via one of our vendors. Will let ya know when we get it!
kaream	post #3  on July 24, 2008 - 12:54 PM PDT   > On July 24, 2008 - 11:30 AM PDT underdog wrote: > --------------------------------- > We've added Verdi's La Traviata as a request title for now. Request away! We're on the prowl for it via one of our vendors. Will let ya know when we get it! > --------------------------------- Oops -- you put up the correct cover photo, but the info and AMG synopsis are for a different version; you might want to fix that. And be sure to order the Netrebko/ Villazon/ Vienna/ Rizzi version from your vendor. The one you posted is also a DG release -- what you want is B0006922-09.
underdog	post #4  on July 24, 2008 - 1:41 PM PDT   Thanks! They'd mapped it incorrectly. We fixed it - how's it now?
kaream	post #5  on July 24, 2008 - 3:03 PM PDT   > On July 24, 2008 - 1:41 PM PDT underdog wrote: > --------------------------------- > Thanks! They'd mapped it incorrectly. We fixed it - how's it now? > --------------------------------- :-) It's the right one, at least. Do you guys put in cast & crew, or get that info from AMG? The conductor is still wrong, and I've never figured out why cast listings seem to frequently start with bit players instead of the leads.
kaream	post #6  on July 24, 2008 - 3:06 PM PDT   > On July 24, 2008 - 3:03 PM PDT kaream wrote: > --------------------------------- > > On July 24, 2008 - 1:41 PM PDT underdog wrote: > > --------------------------------- > > Thanks! They'd mapped it incorrectly. We fixed it - how's it now? > > --------------------------------- > > :-) > > It's the right one, at least. Do you guys put in cast & crew, or get that info from AMG? The conductor is still wrong, and I've never figured out why cast listings seem to frequently start with bit players instead of the leads. > --------------------------------- Oh -- it was still being worked on as I posted -- better now.
kaream	post #7  on July 24, 2008 - 3:14 PM PDT   > On July 24, 2008 - 3:06 PM PDT kaream wrote: > --------------------------------- > > On July 24, 2008 - 3:03 PM PDT kaream wrote: > > --------------------------------- > > > On July 24, 2008 - 1:41 PM PDT underdog wrote: > > > --------------------------------- > > > Thanks! They'd mapped it incorrectly. We fixed it - how's it now? > > > --------------------------------- > > > > :-) > > > > It's the right one, at least. Do you guys put in cast & crew, or get that info from AMG? The conductor is still wrong, and I've never figured out why cast listings seem to frequently start with bit players instead of the leads. > > --------------------------------- > > Oh -- it was still being worked on as I posted -- better now. > --------------------------------- FYI orch conductor is Carlo Rizzi, staging director is Willy Decker, film director is Brian Large (who will be credited at IMDb); orch is Vienna Philharmonic but performance is at Salzburg as part of the 2005 Salzburg Festival. It's confusing details like this that members who are interested in music will be looking for, and IMDb doesn't provide them since they're only concerned about the filming.
kaream	post #8  on July 24, 2008 - 3:20 PM PDT   > On July 24, 2008 - 3:14 PM PDT kaream wrote: > --------------------------------- > It's confusing details like this that members who are interested in music will be looking for, and IMDb doesn't provide them since they're only concerned about the filming. > --------------------------------- Proper cast listing should be: Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Thomas Hampson; all the rest are minor.
kaream	post #9  on July 24, 2008 - 3:37 PM PDT   > On July 24, 2008 - 3:20 PM PDT kaream wrote: > --------------------------------- > > On July 24, 2008 - 3:14 PM PDT kaream wrote: > > --------------------------------- > > It's confusing details like this that members who are interested in music will be looking for, and IMDb doesn't provide them since they're only concerned about the filming. > > --------------------------------- > > Proper cast listing should be: Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Thomas Hampson; all the rest are minor. > --------------------------------- From AMG: "It features musical accompaniment by the Konzertverzinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor as conducted by Rubert Huber". This is relatively accurate, but confusing; it belongs way down below all the other people and organizations involved in the production, because virtually no one will be interested, and no one at all will have ever heard of Rupert Huber. He's the chorus master, not any kind of conductor.
kaream	post #10  on July 24, 2008 - 3:49 PM PDT   I know I'm being picky, but garbled stuff like this frustrates the hell out of anyone trying to figure out performances of any classical music. A notorious example is IMDb's listing for one of the most important performances of Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet -- they give every name associated in any way to the production and the film, but never anywhere mention that the music was written by Prokofiev. It's just like neglecting to mention that Verdi wrote La Traviata.
kaream	post #11  on July 24, 2008 - 4:00 PM PDT   BTW, not one in a thousand people know what 'traviata' means. It's sort of a mixture of 'doomed one', 'lost soul' or 'fallen woman'.
underdog	post #12  on July 25, 2008 - 2:25 PM PDT   No worries. We did fix it a bit more - manually, this time, because AMG was just not going to cut it properly. That's about as good as it can get now. Now hopefully people will start requesting it up, after all your and our work! ;-)
kaream	post #13  on July 25, 2008 - 5:26 PM PDT   > On July 25, 2008 - 2:25 PM PDT underdog wrote: > --------------------------------- > No worries. We did fix it a bit more - manually, this time, because AMG was just not going to cut it properly. That's about as good as it can get now. Now hopefully people will start requesting it up, after all your and our work! ;-) > --------------------------------- Great, thanks. Surely some other members besides me are going to be looking for your opera holdings, and my only point was that the more accurate your description and search terms, the likelier they'll find and be interested in something like this. I have no idea how much opera GC actually moves out on rentals, but I notice that Rossini's La Donna del Lago seems to stay pretty busy, so obviously somebody's interested. Apparently a while back one or another member persuaded you to stock up on some specific titles, one of which was the Metropolitan James Levine 1990 Die Walkure, the first of two discs of which you're sending out to me today (yay!) (moan/ groan/ complain that GC still won't send the whole thing out together at once). I already have a copy of the Met/Levine Siegfried, but have never seen the remaining two parts of Wagner's Ring Cycle in this edition. Both Das Rheingold (the first of the four) and Gotterdammerung (the last of the four) are in print; Amazon prices them at $20 and $26 respectively. I've been almost tempted to buy these, if I could afford them, which I can't, and I wonder if there's any possible chance that GC might pick them up. I would be interested *only* in the Met/Levine editions -- I don't care for the Boulez/ Bayreuth series. In the meantime I'll post Amazon links over in the Request thread. Thanks.