Zach Top La Traviata: Opera Australia (Castles-Onion) [Blu-ray] [2009]

Violetta Valéry Emma Matthews Alfredo Germont Gianluca Terranova Giorgio Germont Jonathan Summers Flora Bervoix Margaret Plummer Gastone Martin Buckingham Baron Douphol James Clayton Marquis dObigny Christopher Hillier Conductor Brian Castles-Onion Director Francesca Zambello Stage Designer Brian Thomson Costume Designer Tess Schofield Lighting Designer John Rayment La Traviata, one of the worlds best loved romantic operas, and is performed under the stars on a floating, mirrored stage in Sydney Harbour, with the city, Opera House and Harbour Bridge acting as a stunning backdrop. Giuseppe Verdi's captivating music is performed with the orchestra concealed in a studio beneath the stage to ensure the finest amplified sound combines with the superlative singing of the cast. With the singers discreetly miked, the recorded sound is presented here in superb quality. Emma Matthews is continually being garnered with praise - Emma Matthews could inspire the dead, turning in one of the finest readings of this role Ive ever heard (International Record Review on Rigoletto), As Gilda, Emma Matthews is outstanding (Opera Now on Rigoletto). Includes a glittering Swarovski chandelier illuminating the stage and fireworks decorating Sydney Harbours sky-line, which render this production as something truly spectacular. Review 'Emma Matthews is a very effective Violetta. She uses her lyrical voice to great effect, singing with ringing intensity and a good deal of beauty, pinging out the high notes and never showing any discomfort. She also manages to change the colour of her voice most effectively for the final act.' --Music Web International, Simon Thompson 'The playing and Brian Castle-Onion's conducting is impressive...this disc captures what was clearly a remarkable operatic event, and, despite the spectacle, still manages to convey the work's essential intimacy.' --Opera, January 2013