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This performance was recorded in July 2008 at the Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen in Austria. The outdoor setting is stunning–it is a massive Roman quarry with mountains visible in the near and far distance–and apparently this Traviata is the first opera they’ve done without wild animals in residence (Nabucco, Aida, and Carmen have been shown in recent years). The sets are lavish enough to make Franco Zeffirelli blush. Designer Manfred Waba has placed the action in a reproduction of the Paris Opera, complete with stage boxes inhabited by patrons in their fanciest clothing who watch along with us. There is more gold than anyone would know what to do with.