This excellent Blu-ray from Deutsche Grammophon documents that event, and it¿s obvious from the very visually striking disc menus that this is no ordinary Traviata, with its austere but visually stunning staging by Willy Decker. And there¿s an incredible chemistry onstage between leads Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon -- "sizzling" is definitely an understatement here -- that makes this perhaps the sexiest La Traviata ever! Anna Netrebko is a very sultry Violetta, and she¿s hoisted about on her red sofa [by the chorus members] to incredibly striking visual effect. Besides her ability to strike some seriously sexy poses on the aforementioned sofa, she¿s also a talented and expressive actress and a superb soprano, who effortlessly tosses her lines about with an ease that almost defies description. Villazon is also superb as Alfredo, leaving little mystery as to why he¿s one of the most in-demand tenors out there, and Thomas Hampson is in equally good voice as Giorgio . . . The color palette employed here is pretty dramatic, and on the whole, the image quality is really quite good . . . [a] superb Blu-ray disc from getting five stars . . . The audience obviously loved every minute, and regularly roared their approval . . . the making-of documentary . . . truly offered a great deal of insight to my greater appreciation of the overall production . . . Fans of Verdi¿s masterwork will not be disappointed by the excellent vocal performances given here, and for those looking for a visually stylistic alternative to more stodgily traditional offerings, this is your ticket . . . Not to be missed -- very highly recommended!

The now-famous Salzburg ¿La traviata¿ with Netrebko and Villazón on DG comes out beautifully in Blu-ray, notable above all for the clarity with which every facial expression of its fine acting singers are caught -- which really benefits the drama.