As I wholly concur with RTF's complimentary view of the musical side of this staging (reviewed last month), except for having reservations about Solti's stiff-limbed conducting, I shall concentrate on the visual side of things. Gheorghiu's interpretation is all the better for being viewed close up, where her facial and physical gestures are more readily appreciated than they were in the theatre. The cameras positively enhance her deeply felt performance, one that obviously comes from the heart and goes to it. If this Violetta begins by seeming more like a girl at her graduation party than an experienced courtesan, she soon corrects that impression by conveying her vulnerability and fear before Germont's onslaught, then visibly falls apart in emotional and physical terms in the later scenes. For all that, I find her a shade less moving than McLaughlin (Haitink) and Fabbricini (Muti). Technically better equipped than either, but doesn't quite provide the overwhelming tug of desperation they achieve.
Lopardo is made to play Alfredo as a rather innocent, stiff French aristocrat. Within this restriction he gives a viable reading, but he lacks the sheer personal magnetism and brio of Muti's Alagna. On the other hand Lopardo is a far subtler artist in terms of phrasing and dynamics. Nucci is a straight-backed, implacable Germont, effective in a traditional way but blank as an actor and as a singer.
Part of the problem lies with Ronald Eyre's very conventional staging in Bob Crowley's even more conventional decor. The rival sets are also played in traditional milieux, but in both cases the stage pictures are far more appealing. Within them, Peter Hall at Glyndebourne (Haitink) and Liliana Cavani at La Scala (Muti) achieve much more in the way of character delineation and body language. Both McLaughlin and Fabbricini fairly tear at the inner core of their own and our beings. In general Eyre, while observing all the verities of time and place, has no specifically defined view of the piece. Sensibly the video directors focus their attention on the principals.
Unfortunately Decca's sound-quality leaves much to be desired; it lacks stereo definition, is recessed and wants body. The subtitles, which were provided when the BBC relayed the production at short notice, are puzzlingly absent on VHS though those with Teletext will have them on LaserDisc. AB