Verdi - La Traviata / Cotrubas · Domingo · Milnes · Bayerisches Staatsorchester · Carlos Kleiber

The best Traviata on disc? If not, it's within hailing distance. No true Verdian would want to be without Callas's 1955 live recording, and it's hard not to love those starring Moffo, Caballe, Scotto, Sutherland, and de los Angeles among others. But this set offers the best all-round combination of excellent sound, fine singing, and dynamic conducting. Ileana Cotrubas is a wonderfully spontaneous Violetta, conveying the passion and vulnerability of the character. Only Callas among her starry rivals on disc can match Cotrubas's emotional and vocal mastery here. Domingo sings with ardor, and Milnes uses his beautiful voice to good effect as Germont. But it's Carlos Kleiber's show, and that enigmatic conductor leads the most energetic Traviata since Toscanini. Tempos are fast, but his sense of theatricality is unerring--this is one of those studio recordings that captures the sense of being at the opera house listening to one of those rare performances when everything clicks. --Dan Davis