[PHC1]

This fine recording of La Traviata comes from a production at the 2005 Salzburg Festival. With an all-star cast featuring Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, and Thomas Hampson, the performances generated an ecstatic reaction from the Salzburg audiences, and the recording captures the excitement of the experience.

The soloists, orchestra, and chorus perform with a vibrant energy that propels the drama with unusual urgency. Netrebko sings flawlessly with a sumptuous, velvety legato, and she is completely engaging as Violetta, beautifully capturing her high spirits, her inner strength, and her physical frailty. "Ah, fors'è lui" and "Addio del passato" are particularly moving.

Villazón is a fine foil for her, with a dark, burnished tenor and an impetuous, sometimes explosive temperament. Hampson's Germont is vocally superb, but he seems somewhat disengaged and doesn't bring the same level of emotional investment to his role as the romantic leads. Carlo Rizzi leads the Vienna Philharmonic with meticulous attention to the details of Verdi's scoring, giving the music a punchiness that tends to get smoothed out in many performances.

The orchestral balances are exceptionally fine, so that each scene is distinctively shaded and colored. DG Deutsche Grammophon's sound is wonderfully clear and present, capturing the positive elements of a live performance without the distractions or limitations that frequently mar live recordings.