Verdi - La Traviata / Ciofi, Sacca, Hvorostovsky, Tufano, Martorana, Cordella, Porta, Maazel, La Fenice Opera

Customer Reviews:

My deepest condolences to..........2007-07-09

...Ciofi, Sacca, Hvorostovsky and Maazel. Was it for productions such as this 'nightclub' TRAVIATA that La Fenice was rebuilt? Pity about the star I'm FORCED to give it. Avoid at all costs (even for free!): if you insist on a modernized version of the opera, get the Salzburg DVD instead.

Good Music set in a Weird Production.......2007-04-23

It would be good if it is just a CD.
To celebrate the reopening of the premiere venue of La Traviata, the producer really got some funny ideas about Verdi's work.
Modernisation of operas, if not done in good taste, often tends to be disastrous, and this is a typical case.
I do not mind the revealing dresses of Ciofi - in the newer production of La Traviata Netrebko did not have a better 'gown' to cover herself either.
What I do mind is the shock that the production conveys - may be that was meant to be so, but it is quite distasteful in certain respects.
The appearances of props like US $ notes, cameras, TV sets, microphones, spectacles, all smells of cabaret shows or the Rouge Moullin, but those things are obviously quite far off Verdi's script. Would a 1970's Aflredo fall in love with a prostitute that has consumption? (Or may be a drug addict, if the conversion is to be be more complete?)From the moment of the overture onwards, one is being 'prepared' to witness some changes, but as the plot proceeds, the changes are often too unexpectant and sometimes even weird. It is simply difficult to believe that this Alfredo would fall in love with this Violetta.
Vocally, the three protagonists are quite even, with the pair Alfredo/Violetta matching well. Both are smallish voices, effortful singing, but managed quite well. The vocal star is Hvorostovsky, but the role of the Germont Sr. as a whole is a real joke to viewers.
If it was not for Maazel's conducting and Hvorostovsky and Ciofi and Sacca's singing, the production could be called a real disaster.

Well-sung, well-directed "modern dress" production.......2006-10-25

This performance of "La Traviata" was to celebrate the reopening of the Teatro la Fenice in 2004. As most opera buffs know, the original premiere of La Traviata in 1853 at the same theatre was a fiasco. Giuseppe Verdi rewrote some of the music, and set the opera back a century. It of course became a huge hit, and to this day remains arguably Verdi's most popular opera. This 2004 performance uses the original 1853 score. There aren't many differences -- the obvious differences are in the Germont/Violetta duet in Act 2, brief snippets of music in the party scene, and again brief snippets of music in the final Alfredo/Violetta duet.'

The production is not a "traditional" Traviata. It's been updated to modern times. Violetta's party is rather sleazy. In the opening scene she's dressed in a revealing red negligee, and men grope her as she sits atop a piano. Alfredo is an eager paparazzi -- in "Un di felice" he shows Violetta the pictures he's taken of her. An overriding symbol in the production is money -- Violetta throws a handful of dollar bills in the air while singing Sempre libera. In Act 2, instead of the usual country house we're set in a "forest of greenbacks," with money literally falling out of trees. Flora's party is a sleazy nightclub, and the "ballet" is performed by, well, not exactly strippers, but nightclub dancers. There's a big screen TV showing the nightclub dancers. In the final act, Violetta is alone in a warehouse/loft. The large screen TV remains, but this time there's only static. Violetta's empty life of celebrity is over. She sadly flips through the photos Alfredo gave her while she sings "Addio del passato."

Many people might not like the updated production, but I thought it worked fairly well. The real-life "Violetta," Marie duPlessis, died at the age of 23. She was pimped out by her father when she was in her teens. Despite the multitude of lovers, she couldn't have had many happy moments in her life. She was a celebrity, but it must have been an empty, unfulfilling life. This production doesn't change the gist of La Traviata. The only thing that's different is that Violetta is not so obviously dying of consumption.

But La Traviata lives or dies at the hands of the soprano. There have been so many Violettas, but so few great ones. I hesitate to put Ciofi on the list of "greats" but she's certainly very good indeed. Her voice is not the most beautiful -- it has an acidic edge to it, and her performance is not perfect either. She struggles with pitch problems during Act 1. The fiendishly difficult runs of "Sempre libera" are sung cleanly and she even throws in an interpolated E-flat. But hers is a Violetta that improves through the acts. Naturally thin and frail-looking, she truly looks sick by the last act, and although her voice is not large she knows how to sell the big moments, like "Amami Alfredo" or the final "Oh gioia!". Roberto Sacca is the weak link. He's pudgy and unattractive, but that's not why I don't like his portrayal. He's very insensitive. All bluster and no tenderness. He has a good ringing top but that's it. (Although to be fair it's hard to find tenors willing to sing Alfredo. Many of the famous ones think it's beneath them.) Dmitri Hvorostovsky's silky baritone is appropriate for Germont, but at this point in his career he could walk through the role, and he does.

Of the La Traviatas available on dvd, I would choose Angela Gheorghiu's video as perhaps the best "starter" dvd. A traditional, tasteful production, and Gheorghiu was/is a wonderful Violetta, with a voice that's more traditionally beautiful. Anna Moffo made an artificial, over-glamorized film in the late 1960s, but that doesn't detract from Moffo's incandescent Violetta. This Venice performance is not perfect, but if you're a fan of either Ciofi or the opera, I recommend the video.

Too naughty production & Medicore singing.........2006-04-30

I had looked forward to have this DVD because I thought this would be a good modern production compared to traditional ones. At first impression, I admit the performance was quite satisfying. But, the problem that I eventually found is too naughty and ridiculous presentation of Flora's Party scene and not so good singing of Sacca and Hovobostovsky. 2 stars for the Ciofi's performance (not for singing but for acting!) & Mazzel's direction.

Disappointing Traviata.......2006-04-16

Mine seems to be a minority opinion here, but this production was a big disappointment. I was looking forward to Patrizia Ciofi as Violetta because she was thrilling in the recent Lyon Opera production of Lucie de Lammermoor. I was curious to see Roberto Sacca as Alfredo because I've only heard him as a sweet-voiced Mozart tenor (he does a great job of humanizing Don Ottavio in The Zurich Opera's 2001 Don Giovanni). And I expected great things from Dmitri Hvorostovsky who was so good as di Luna in Il Trovatore.

The first surprise was to see Violetta played as a common prostitute instead of the self-educated and refined courtesan, Marie Duplessis, on whom Verdi based the character. To help with this transformation, the director updates the setting to the 1970's, Violetta parading around in flimsy lingerie and Alfredo appearing to be some kind of photographer (paparazzi perhaps?). I can accept the director's choice to focus on Violetta's "bottom line" profession, but in Act I, Ciofi and Sacca play their characters as so self-absorbed that they are entirely unsympathetic. How can we believe Alfredo loves Violetta when, as he cries "mysterioso" in "Di quell' amor," he's throwing photographs at her ("head shots" in the trade) and then sings the rest of the duet with his camera in front of his face, snapping pictures? This duet seems like a complete failure to me.

Ciofi continues to disappoint in Act I. She oversings and overacts in her big set piece. I find it painful to watch. In Act II, Sacca's voice comes alive in "O mio rimorso," but why is the floor of the forest covered with U.S. dollars printed with Verdi's picture? I don't get it. (The bills later fall like leaves as Violetta cries "Amami, Alfredo," providing a big distraction in what should be the opera's most heartbreaking moment.) I was hoping Hvorostovsky would save the day as Germont, but he's strangely stiff and remote as the concerned, if overbearing, father. He seems uncomfortable in the role.

Ciofi's best moments come in her death scene, including a haunting rendition of "Addio del passato." But on the whole, this production feels forced, from the singing to the acting to the directorial choices. For Traviata on DVD, I recommend either the 1992 La Fenice production with Gruberova, Schicoff, and Zancanaro (Rizzi conducting) or the 1994 Covent Garden production with Gheorghiu, Lopardo, and Nucci (Solti conducting).

Average customer rating:

Boooooooring
Isabelle Huppert And Daniel Auteuil At Their Best
The End of Something
Very real...
French blues

La Separation
Starring: Isabelle Huppert , Daniel Auteuil , Jérôme Deschamps , Karin Viard , and Laurence Lerel
Director: Christian Vincent
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000JJHF
Release Date: 1999-09-07

Description

Pierre and Anne have been married for several years. They have slowly started to grow apart. One night after a party, Anne tells Pierre that she is in love with another man. Although her admission is not surprising, Pierre's reaction is. This seemingly commonplace story is told in a modern, sharp, intimate style, allowing two remarkable actors to express a complex range of emotions. Full Filmographies, Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Production Credits, Widescreen Format 1.85:1

Customer Reviews:

Boooooooring.......2007-05-01

I recoomend this movie to people with insomnia. It is slooow, the male character is shallow, immature, and the premise that the woman would have an affair and all would be the same back home is ludicrous.

Isabelle Huppert And Daniel Auteuil At Their Best.......2005-11-01

This is one of the finest acted movies I've ever seen...but, in my opinion, it has a somewhat uninvolving story. La Separation features two great actors, Isabelle Huppert as Anne and Daniel Auteuil as Pierre, in a one hour and 25 minute story of a marriage that dissolves for no one reason but many small reasons. In one scene they are lying, fully clothed, in bed after Anne has returned from seeing her lover, although it is unclear if Anne and the man made or have ever made love.

"What did I do wrong?" asks Pierre.
"Nothing," Anne says.
"You won't say?"
"It's nothing specific. Just a lot of little things."
"Tell me."
"I don't know," Anne says. "Maybe we didn't talk enough. By not talking we put up with things we shouldn't have."
"You could have told me."
"I did."
"Not like this."
"I did in a different way. You just wouldn't listen...it's just...I met someone who listens to me... who's interested in me...who pays attention to me. That's all."

The story is told more from Pierre's point of view. He discusses things with two friends. He makes videotapes of his 11-month-old son and records his sad realization that these tapes will probably be the closest he'll be to his son after the divorce. At first he's calm and puzzled, but then begins to seethe with frustration and hopelessness. Anne in her way loves him, but has come to learn that marriage to Pierre will eventually drown her in...nothing; less passion, less feeling.

Auteuil's Pierre is something of a sad sack. He always needs a shave. He seems to have few emotional resources. His love for his young son is palpable. He'll see the boy two weekends a month, but knows that will never be enough to really be in his son's life. Huppert, as usual, is a master at demonstrating less is more. She shows less emotion, her motives are, on the surface, perhaps egocentric. As we realize what Anne's life has become, however, Huppert demonstrates the longing for something more...with a glance, a tentative motion to touch Pierre on the shoulder, a flash of exasperation. She's not heartless, she may not entirely know what she wants, but with Pierre she has come to know what she doesn't want. As one character says, "With a couple, one suffers and the other one's bored, and vice versa."

Why do I think the movie is somewhat uninvolving? Because the story-line goes straight from A (We see Anne pull her hand away from Pierre when he reaches out to touch her and she later tells him he irritated her) to Z (The divorce has been granted and we last see Pierre, scruffy as usual, wandering at night lost amongst some small streets trying to catch a cab). There are no surprises, no expectations and, in my view, just an overly film-ish look at the marriage's disintegration. For the most part, Anne and Pierre are just too civilized about everything, and all the doors to explore are closed by the conventions of the film. Could Pierre really not shape himself up, or at least try? Is Anne really as committed to a new life without Pierre as she seems? We never meet the other man, and toward the end of the movie he's no longer a factor in the plot. Although we learn that the divorce conditions will strongly favor the wife, could Pierre not privately work out with Anne much more contact with their son?

With all that said, Huppert and Auteuil are the heart of the film. They are so subtle and so authentic that I was completely caught up in the feelings of their characters -- and only later after a second viewing was I really aware of the job they were doing. These two actors make this movie worth watching.

The DVD looks just fine.

The End of Something.......2003-02-13

Well if you are going through a break-up of your own and you want some company then this film is for you. The actors are what drew me to the film. Isabelle Huppert has been in at least a dozen great films including The Piano Teacher and Merci Pour Le Chocolat. I would recommend both of those films to anyone. She can play enigmatic very well. In her best roles though we eventually start to see glimpses into just what makes her enigmatic characters tick. In this role there is enigma but not enough glimpses behind the facade. She just plays a generic unhappy wife. Anne(Huppert) just stares at her husband (Auteuil) as if waiting for him to react in the opening scenes when she reveals she has fallen in love with someone else. One doesn't sense this woman is capable of feeling passion for anything though. The new love doesn't give her life any added spark. It seems more like a diversion from facing what the real problem is. It seemed to me the real problem was that Huppert's character felt nothing for anyone. This is partly because of the kind of actress Huppert is--remote. And when Huppert's character does express some belated emotion toward the end of the picture it seems forced. Other directors have used this remote quality that Huppert has to great effect by offering us clues as to why she became that way but in this film shes just remote.

Auteuil is fine. He is an actor who never hits a wrong note. What he portrays time and again is the lone brooding and quietly suffering type. He can play intense, in fact his characters are always intense, but his intensity is an inward intensity. There is not much chemistry between Huppert and Auteuil. For a movie about a break-up thats perfectly alright but its hard to imagine what these two characters ever shared and so it is hard to feel remorse that the relationship has runs its course. What is interesting is that though the passion between them is gone they still rely on each other because they know each other so well. And what is sad is that Huppert's affair though it turned out to be meaningless was enough to ruin a friendship which meant more to both of them than either of them ever knew until it was too late. The film is decidedly downbeat in its uncompromising look at a couples dissolution. And an honest film about such a topic could be no other way.

Very real..........2002-07-11

Daniel Auteuil. Need I say more? I love him! If he is in a film, you can sure bet it is going to be a picture filled with depth and substance. He is one of my favorite actors, right up there with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. After you see this one, buy "The Girl on the Bridge", and see Auteuil show off his outstanding capability of playing a wide varitey of acting roles. One of the BEST in the profession!

French blues.......2000-12-12

Although based on a novel by Dan Franck with the same title, the name of this film is misleading. Parisian couple Daniel Auteuil and Isabelle Huppert have a crisis when Isabelle confesses that she has fallen in love with another man, but this doesn't directly lead to their separation. It's more like a 10 point study of suffering in co-habitation. The source material having been written by a man clues us into whose story we are seeing, typified by how Isabelle doesn't see how her affair should impact on their relationship, but Daniel does. He's all jealousy and frustration and she's understanding. That is, until his hostility breaks out. Director Christian Vincent casts a relative as the couple's child, who Daniel videotapes intermittently, and the blue tint of the video is carried over into a general blue lighting state for the whole film. Vincent also controls the actors so that both deliver restrained performances, with Isabelle wearing a lot of jackets. Daniel has a few amusing bull sessions with his best male friend (an opportunity Isabelle is deprived of), and has a memorable hugging moment. Vincent also gives us the most stressful flying kite scene I've ever witnessed, though I could have done without the film's obvious ending. A conversation with Isabelle resting on Daniel's chest is particularly striking, and she looks very beautiful when dishevelled and her hair covers her face. The soundtrack is bleakly silent, with only Glen Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations over the credits, and we get a clip from Roberto Rossellini's Europe '51 with Ingrid Bergman.

The Separation (La Séparation) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]

Average customer rating:

The Separation (La Séparation) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]
Director: Christian Vincent
Manufacturer: Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Great Britain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: French (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: French director Christian Vincent charts the dissolution of a long-term relationship with his third film, based on the novel by Dan Franck. Daniel Auteuil and Isabelle Huppert star as Pierre and Anne, a couple who have been living together as husband and wife for several years. Although they never married, they do have a fifteen-month-old son, Loulou. One night at the cinema, Anne refuses to take Pierre's hand and the strained moment leads to her confession that she has fallen in love with another man. Although Pierre seems at first to take the news calmly, he becomes increasingly desperate and enraged as the days pass, while the distant Anne walks a fine line between embarking on a new romance and trying not to hurt Pierre too greatly. When a pair of friends, Victor (Jerome Deschamps) and Claire (Karin Viard), announce that they are finally marrying after their own years-long relationship, it sparks a final confrontation between Pierre and Anne. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu,

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