La Traviata lives up to billing
Saturday’s performance of the Verdi’s La Traviata by the Metropolitan operas, as part of their Live in HD series, provided yet another opportunity to share the rich offerings by one of the world’s great composers.
Verdi’s works, which include Aida, Nabucco, Il Travotore, Rigoletto, Otello, and Un Ballo in Maschera, have all been enjoyed on stages around the world and a number of them have been showcased to local audiences since the Met’s live broadcast has been shown to local audiences.
La Traviata is a rich and vibrant tragedy which centres around Violetta Valery — played brilliantly by Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva. Valery is dying and wishes desparately to give up her life as a courtesan.
Things start to look up for her when Alfredo steps into her life. She hesitatingly accepts his propositions and soon the two are a bonafide pair happily living in the country… but that is only Act I.
As with all great stories there is always a twist. In La Traviata, the twist comes in the form of Alfredo’s father, Giorgio, who disapproves of the former courtesan for his son and hatches a plan to destroy the happy home.
The plan works and the drama heightens before crashing at the climax.
Throughout the performance, which runs for close to three hours, one is struck by how vocally taxing a performance is required of the leading lady.
Yoncheva is on stage for possibly 98 per cent of the production and yet never falters, doing her all to bring the character to life.
Her counterparts Michael Fabiano, as her suitor- turned-lover Alfredo, and Thomas Hampson, who plays his father, both hold their own and never seem out of depth, despite the strength and imposing vocal presence of Yoncheva.
Another striking aspect of this production is director Willy Decker’s minimalist approach, all aimed at zeroing in on the music and the three principal cast members.
One never gets distracted by a busy set or elaborate costuming in this staging of the work. Decker keeps everything down to a bare minimum, allowing eyes and ears to focus.
This is most evident during the opening scenes where the chorus, even the female members, are dressed in black trouser suits, allowing the leading lady to pop in a burst of scarlet, seated on a red couch.
These scenes in the opening act also provide the setting for the much-loved chorus from this work, Brindisi, also known as The Drinking Song. This provided one of the vocal highlights of La Traviata on Saturday.
Maestro Nicola Luisotti’s marshalling the musicians from the orchestral pit, and the brilliance of the cast on stage all ensured that the 2017 season at the Met lived up to expectations and continued the traditions of one of the world’s renowned opera houses.
The encore performance of La Traviata will be on screen at Palace Cineplex next Sunday, while the Live in HD series continues on March 25 with Mozart’s Idomeneo, and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on April 22.
The season closes with Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss on May 13.
– Richard Johnson