Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta Valéry (studio recording)

Angela Gheorghiu - the most complete Violetta Valéry of her generation. This video is the only segment of La Traviata she has recorded in the studio (in 2010, at age 45; "È strano! È strano!...Sempre Libera"). Her live performances of the full role at the ROH (1994) and La Scala (2007) are available on DVD. She last performed the role in 2010, at the MET and the ROH.

Commenting on Gheorghiu's "fetching musicality", opera critic La Cieca / James Jorden described this particular rendition as follows:

"Here's a certain bravery in programming the Traviata double aria at this point in Gheorghiu's career, coming up on two decades since her breakthrough performance of that opera at Covent Garden. On this CD she demonstrates that both voice and personality remain a sleek fit for Verdi's courtesan. The opening recitative and slow movement (both verses) Gheorghiu keeps intimate, almost hushed, drawing the listener in closer and closer. Then she takes the cabaletta at an almost frightening clip, faster than most "coloratura" sopranos would dare. The coda phrase "dee volare il mio pensiero" sounds literally true, a "flight of ideas" symptomatic of bipolar disorder. At this tempo, the quick scale passages sound aspirated and a few other ornaments get a bit smudged. But this is a Violetta who vibrates with excitement, no victim but rather a tragic heroine with the seeds of her destruction sown in her psyche".

Check out also the playlist "Angela Gheorghiu - A Vocal Portrait of the Great Diva": it contains 200 clips adding up to more than 22 hours of superb music - it is Youtube's most comprehensive resource on Angela Gheorghiu (you find the playlist by doing a Youtube search with the full name of the playlist).

"Vocally, Angela is leagues above any other soprano in recorded history. Not only is the voice thick, luscious, and velvety, but she is also able to emote her VOICE in a way that to me is unprecedented. I have yet to hear a singer who carries emotion into the voice better" (comment made on Youtube by user longliveclassicmusic).

"I continue to feel that Angela Gheorghiu's voice comes the closest to Maria Callas's in tone, texture, and focus. There is a voltage factor in her voice that I have yet to match in any modern classical soprano. I am never disappointed. And I am always energized by her incredible concentration. She always draws me into wanting more....." (comment made on Youtube by user johntmarohn1)

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Видео Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta Valéry (studio recording) канала SavHub