La Traviata

Ruminating on the lasting power of Verdi's beloved 1853 opera, famed feature film and theatre director Franco Zeffirelli (who not only directed this new stage production, but the 1982 movie version as well) hopes that we will never see a "generation of monsters who are not moved by Violetta and Alfredo [the doomed lovers at the center of the story]"). Well, Mr. Z., call me green and scaly. But, first things first: recorded at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Buseto, Italy, in February 2002, La Traviata boasts excellent performances from the lovely soprano Stefania Bonfadelli in the role of Violetta, a hedonistic Parisian courtesan who trades in her party girl persona for a tempestuous true-love relationship with Alfredo (handsome American tenor Scott Piper), only to have the conventional rug pulled out from under her when Alfredo's pop Giorgio Germont (a bravo-inspiring turn by baritone Renato Bruson) says ixnay to the love affair and secretly convinces Violetta--to quote Spike Lee--to do the right thing and leave. Did I mention that Violetta was recovering from illness at the beginning of Act 1? Well, Act 3 finds her in bed giving Dickens' Little Nell from The Old Curiosity Shop a good run for her money for the most pointlessly protracted death scene (37 minutes). Overall, the staging is solid (with the exception of a revolving center with huge clear panels that works very nicely for a couple of scenes but looks awkward for the remainder of the presentation), the costumes are vibrant, and the choreography is fluid. The English subtitling, on the other hand, ranges from competent to semi-illiterate (e.g., "heaven will repay your for this tears"). Disc extras include a 30-minute "making-of" and a 36-minute compilation of clips and extended interviews, while audio options include DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and stereo. Given the fact that this is one of the staples of opera, with a large, avid audience (who are not monsters like moi), this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)