Earlier this summer a production of “La Traviata” was filmed in real time in various locations around Paris where the story might have happened. An all-star cast and a $25 million budget still don’t make for a satisfying experience. The telecast tries to “convince you this is a real-life parallel universe where people happen to sing rather than speak. That is dishonest. And in coping with Verdi’s sense of ‘opera time,’ which is a slower than normal TV time and even slower than real time, Griffi’s camera zooms in and out for tight close-ups in a show of virtuosity that alienates you from the story.” – Philadelphia Inquirer