I have never heard Carreras give less than an excellent perfomance in Traviata. It fits his voice like a glove. To me, his voice was at its most beautiful in Traviata, Lucia and Ballo.

The Traviata, Tokyo, 1973 video (and cd) with Renata Scotto, Jose Carreras and Sesto Bruscantini is superb. (Popping buttons on costume and all). La Traviata is in my top five favorite operas. You have no idea how many of Carreras' Traviatas I've heard. This is my favorite and it is the only one available on video.

Renata Scotto does not look the part, but oh, my, she IS Traviata. It is one of her most famous roles, with reason. Every word, every gesture, every movement has a purpose. Her high notes are shrill, but that doesn't seem to matter much. There are many other wonderful Traviatas, some sing the role even better than Scotto, but they do not have the same 'feel' for the role - Caballe, Gruberova, Ricciarelli, Cotrubas are just a few who have sung Traviata opposite Carreras.

Sesto Bruscantini is the best Germont I've heard, among many very good baritones. He is really a Rossini buffo bass/baritone, but you would never know it when he sings Germont. Again, each word is sung beautifully, with such meaning. Very understated, yet the underlying emotion is so apparent. Without a good Germont, I don't want to hear the opera.

The glorious, fresh as mint voice of the very young Carreras pours from his throat with such ease and beauty. Yet his performance is full of emotion. Rather than work his voice, his voice does all the work - one of the big differences between the very young and the more mature Carreras, in my opinion.

I am not a crier, but if a tenor can't make me cry by the 6th note of 'Un di felice...', forget it. I once heard a lecturer say "if you miss 'Un di felice' forget the rest of the opera". The entire opera is built on that short aria (leading to the wonderful duet)...

Un dì, felice, eterea,
Mi balenaste innante,
E da quel dì tremante
Vissi d'ignoto amor.
Di quell'amor, quell'amor ch'è palpito
Dell'universo intero, dell'universo intero,
Misterioso, misterioso altero,
Croce, croce e delizia,
Delizia al cor