Earlier this month, I reviewed the powerful 1982 Zeffirelli adaptation of Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece, La Traviata (1853). The opera's title means approximately "A Woman Gone Astray." I thought it might be interesting to contrast Zeffirelli's highly cinematic film adaptation of the opera with a more conventionally stage-bound one that is very good within that limitation. Mario Lanfranchi directed the present production of La Traviata and also scripted the screenplay from the opera's libretto.

Historical Background: Mario Lanfranchi (sometimes credited as Marius La Frank) was born June 30th, 1927 in Parma, Italy. He is perhaps best known as the one-time husband of Anna Moffo. The two were married in 1957. Lanfranchi worked as both an actor and a director. He appeared as an actor in The Empty Canvas (1963), The Beckett Affair (1966), and The Secret of the Glass Soldier (1970). His first experience as a director came from a television version of Turandot (1958). La Traviata (1967) was his first endeavor for the big screen. He also directed a version of Lucia di Lammermoor (1971) and four non-operatic films between 1968 and 1977.

Verdi's opera La Traviata premiered on March 6th, 1853, in Venice, but was anything but successful that night. The singers were poorly cast for their roles. The soprano who sang the part of Violetta was particularly corpulent, which made the notion of the heroine's death being due to consumption rather ludicrous. A slightly revamped production was warmly received fourteen months later and the opera went on to become a staple of the repertoire. La Traviata was the last of the three great masterpieces of Verdi's middle period, having been preceded by Rigoletto (1851) and Il Trovatore (1853).

The Story: Each act in this version begins with a brief plot synopsis. If you're not already familiar with the opera's story or fluent in Italian, you'll need to read these synopses carefully, since this film is in Italian and has no subtitles. The Act I synopsis reads, "At a reception in her house in Paris, Violetta (Anna Moffo), a rich and beautiful courtesan, meets a young man, Alfredo (Franco Bonisolli), who declares that he has loved her ever since he first saw her. During the evening, Violetta is taken ill. The guests withdraw, except Alfredo; his tenderness and concern cause Violetta to fall in love with him." I'll only add that Violetta derives her support from a protector named Baron Douphol (Arturo La Porta), but there is no love evident between the pair.

The Act II synopsis reads, "It is four months later. Violetta has sold all her possessions to buy the country house where she is now living with Alfredo. Alfredo discovers from her maid, Annina (Gianna Lollini), how much Violetta has sacrificed to buy this house, and leaves for Paris to find money to repay her. In his absence, his father, Giorgio Germont (Gino Bechi), calls to beg Violetta to break her liaison with his son for the sake of their family's name. Finally, she agrees. Alfredo returns, and shortly afterwards, Violetta and Annina leave secretly for Paris. Alfredo receives a note saying that she has left him forever."

The Act III synopsis reads, "Violetta has returned to the city and resumed her life as a courtesan. Learning that she will be at a certain party, Alfredo procures and invitation for himself and sees Violetta arrive with Baron Douphol. Violetta begs Alfredo to leave, but he publicly insults her and is challenged to a duel by the Baron."

The Act IV synopsis reads, "Having wounded the Baron in the duel, Alfredo is forced to flee the country. Later he learns from his father the reason for Violetta's desertion, he hurries back to Paris, only to find Violetta is dying – alone and in poverty."

Production Values: The screenplay was modified by Mario Lanfranchi from the libretto for La Traviata by Francesco Maria Piave, which was in turn adapted from a play by Alexandre Dumas fils (1824-1895) entitled La Dame aux camélias ("The Lady of the Camelias"). The play was also known simply as "Camille" in the U.S.A., after it toured under that name with actress Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role. The play was made into the film Camille (1936), starring Greta Garbo. Dumas based the play on his own novel, which was in turn based on his real-life experience. When Dumas was twenty, he met a lovely Parisian courtesan named Marie Duplessis. Marie was a member of a class of women known as the "demimonde," meaning something akin to the modern Western term "kept woman" or the Asian term "concubine." The women of the demimonde, though less than fully respectable, were by no means prostitutes. They were supported by wealthy patrons called "protectors."

Dumas fils was madly in love with Marie Duplessis but the two had a falling out less than a year after first becoming lovers. Dumas took a trip through Spain and North Africa with his famous father in order to recover from the breakup. During these travels, Dumas received word that Marie had died of consumption. He poured his grief into a novel, which was later converted into the play. The play premiered in Paris on February 2nd, 1852. When Verdi later attended a performance of the play, he realized immediately that the story would make a great opera libretto and would suit his personal preferences as a composer.

Lanfranchi's production maintains a high degree of faithfulness to Verdi's opera, though it is pared down to just 113 minutes. The cuts were the standard ones typically made in live performances. The sets for Act I, with a distinctly golden motif, are very nearly as lovely as those in the Zeffirelli production. Those for the subsequent acts, which are excellent by stage standards, are not competitive with Zeffirelli's nicely opened up production. There are no outdoor shots, for example, in Act II, in the present version. The gypsy entertainment at the opening of Act III is attractive but nowhere near the quality of what Zeffirelli provides. The stage business involving the chorus is much weaker in this version than in the Zeffirelli version throughout the entire movie. This version is basically a photographed performance, except that the camera does move fluidly to give us a variety of angles and to explore the spaces of the sets. The close-ups of Moffo's facial expressions are excellent. There's good visual variety maintained throughout the film by varying the shot distance.

The present version does surpass the Zeffirelli production in one key respect: the quality of the soundtrack, both with respect to musical quality and engineering. The sound here is as good as what you would get listening to a high quality audio recording. It is much more up-front and competes less with stage sounds. In Act I, especially, Moffo's numbers are clearly superior to what Strada and Zeffirelli provide. Moffo's delivery of her share of the duet with Alfredo, when he professes his love, is utterly stunning. I listened to it repeatedly by backing the tape up. Throughout Act I, there is much more of a coloratura quality in Moffo's singing compared to Strada's. Moffo and Strada are both beautiful women and both slender enough to be credible as Violetta. Both also have extraordinarily expressive eyes and both are exceptional actresses for opera divas. There is little to choose between them on that account. Giuseppe Patane conducts The Orchestra and Chorus of the Rome Opera for this film.

Anna Moffo was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania on June 27th, 1932 to parents of Italian descent. She reached her professional peak in the sixties. She was very much admired both for the beauty of her voice and her personal attractiveness. Moffo was incredibly popular in Italy, hosting The Anna Moffo Show on Italian television. She was voted one of the ten most beautiful women in Italy. Moffo was legendary for her wit and candor. One time, at an Italian airport, the paparazzi mistook her for Gina Lollobrigida and were hounding her relentlessly. In order to persuade them that they were mistaken, she even sang them part of an aria, whereupon they cried out in unison, "Gina, you can sing!!!"

At one time, Moffo anticipated becoming a nun, but was won over to a career in music by the offer of a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Later she studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome on a Fulbright scholarship. Moffo had her professional debut in Donizetti's Don Pasquale in Spoleto. In 1956, she appeared in a television version of Madame Butterfly directed by Mario Lanfranchi, and the two were married a year later. Soon, Moffo was performing all over the world, including La Scala, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Metropolitan, where she first appeared as Violetta in La Traviata. Moffo and Lanfranchi were divorced in 1972 and Moffo remarried to RCA chairman Robert W. Sarnoff. Sarnoff died in 1997.

Like Maria Callas, Moffo has appeared not only in filmed operas but in some strictly dramatic roles in films, such as in Love Me, Baby, Love Me!, which won a Griffo d'Argento award. Her two hallmark opera roles are Violetta in La Traviata, which she performed more than 900 times, and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, which she played more than 500 times. Her filmed version of Lucia was made in 1971 (see Listing.)

Playing opposite Moffo in the current film is tenor Franco Bonisolli, who was born in Rovereto, Italy, on May 25th, 1938. He made his La Scala debut in 1969 in Rossini's L'Assedio di Corinto. He joined the Vienna State Opera in 1968, was a guest star at the San Francisco Opera in 1969, and debuted at the Metropolitan in New York in 1971. In addition to his film appearance here, he appears as Manrico in a 1985 television version of Il Trovatore. Bonisolli died in October of 2003 at only 65 years of age. He performs effectively here, but is not the equal of the great Plácido Domingo in Zeffirellli's version.

Gino Bechi sings the baritone role as Alfredo's father, Giorgio Germont. Bechi was a leading Verdian performer during his prime, playing all of the major baritone roles. He also sometimes sang verismo and bel canto roles. He made his La Scala debut as Don Carlo in Verdi's La Forza del Destino. He only rarely appeared outside of Italy. His filmography includes a 1953 recording of Aida in which he played Amonasro.

Bottom-Line: This film is in Italian. My VHS copy has no subtitles. I don't know whether the DVD version provides them. This version of La Traviata has both advantages and disadvantages in comparison to the outstanding version directed by Zefferelli. The two strengths of the present version are a significantly better soundtrack (both musically and technically) and Anna Moffo's beautiful voice and appearance. The Zefferelli version wins out on beauty of images, creative camerawork, the two lead males (both vocal quality and acting), and stage business involving the chorus, dancers, and lead characters. Teresa Strada is magnificent as Violetta and so is Anna Moffo, so you win with either version on that account.


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You may also enjoy my other opera reviews:

The Barber of Seville
La Bohème
Boris Godunov
Carmen
Carmen (Dance Version)
Don Giovanni
Lucia di Lammermoor
The Magic Flute
I Pagliacci
Rigoletto
La Traviata (Strada)
Il Trovatore
Turandot

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12