- Produced by Opera Australia
- Shown at State Theatre Melbournt
- Directed by Elijah Moshinsky [re-staged by Constantine Costi]
- Conducted by Renato Palumbo
- Starring
- Stacy Alleaume
- Ho-Yoon Chung
- Mario Cassi
A special night for me – I was taken out by family as a treat for Christmas – a belated treat, obviously.
I must confess at the outset; I am an opera freak. I saw my first opera in 1955 and was hooked and have been a slave to this art form from that day. There have been some great, great productions and performances that I’ve attended over the years both here and in foreign countries. And I’ve seen some very famous singers. Usually, I have been blown away by the work I’ve seen, sometimes, only occasionally, I have been disappointed. The disappointment may be with one singer or a particular production fault, but generally I’ve loved everything I’ve attended.
This record ended last night when I left this production of ‘La Traviata’ at the end of the second act and had my family take me home.
Why was that? Basically, the production looks and is very tired. It is a re-staging of an old production from years back. This tiredness extends to everything about the production. Why, when you have a very large stage do you have a set for Violetta’s soiree which is so small and cramped the cast cannot fit in it? The guests are so closely packed together I worried they wouldn’t have space to breathe to reach their top notes. Violetta kept running up and down a narrow passageway through the room, with a champagne bottle in her hand, I found this very inappropriate, she had servants to do that. Similarly, in the Act 2 gambling scene, this set is even more overcrowded. This became hysterical when the ballet tried to enter to do their Paris Opera piece and had difficulty fighting their way through the guests, particularly the Matador who looked very put out. I suppose this is an economy for the company, as the set must be used in every venue – large or small – and this one, obviously fits the smaller venue.
Cheek to jowl. Social distancing was not a thing back then.
The orchestra, similarly, appears tired and, I thought, low on numbers. [Is this all because of covid perhaps?] The opening strings of the overture sound weak, I know this passage echoes Violetta’s inner emotions for the whole piece, but I wasn’t convinced. Then the costuming was not appropriate in my opinion. It looks as if they are trying for the late 1800s, but these costumes do not make Violetta look attractive. She is the most famous courtesan of Paris and of all literature, she should be glamour plus. She should be Garbo in ‘Camille’ or Vivien Leigh in ‘Lady of the Camellias’ I felt sorry for the soprano, as glamour did not seem to be in the director’s palette. I felt her singing was somewhat off in the first act, she seemed to be under the note on many occasions. I wondered if she was having difficulty hearing the orchestra. The tenor playing Alfredo is not strong enough, he doesn’t seem to come across the footlights. I had difficulty hearing him and I was in the front row of the dress circle. And I would never put my tenor in that dreadful brown outfit this man had to wear.
The second act is a lovely surprise. A beautiful autumnal setting with tall trees and the occasional autumn leaf falling to the ground. This looked lovely, but I immediately thought, where is Violetta going to write her letter. This letter to Alfredo ending their relationship is central to the whole opera, she usually sits at her desk and writes and sings beautifully. I worried for the whole of the scene. We could spy a small desk and a chair in a room off this outdoor setting, but how was the director going to pull it off?
The singing is much better in this act. Alfredo gives us his ‘Lunge da lei’ and is much better than in Act 1. Violetta is strong and the Germont pere, a great role, is handled with dignity. Then Violetta writes her famous letter, she runs into the desk, snatches up a piece of paper and something which could be a pencil or, don’t tell me it was a fountain pen, and proceeds to write her letter on a garden table. Overall, this Act 2, scene 1, is much stronger than the opening.
The second scene in this act is the gambling scene. Once again, overcrowded to the point that there can be very little movement from the cast. As reported earlier the ballet has difficulties and then Violetta appears in a black frock. Why! She seems to have diminished in size, we know she is ill, but this is her return to the Paris scene. Surely, she would have worn something more colourful. An amusing aside to this scene is that as the ballet is performed, the dancers have brought with them a troupe of gypsies, who go around the guests reading fortunes and making money. The gypsies and the guests all wear white gloves, no one removes a glove so that his or her palm can be read. Clever gypsies! The drama unfolds, Alfredo insults Violetta, the Baron slaps Alfredo with his glove and the curtain falls.
Anyone who's ever traveled through Europe with the Grumpy Old Man knows he has quite the soft spot for our nomadic friends.
By this time, I looked at my family and said I either need a strong drink or we should go home. My family readily agreed to going home.
I have never walked out of an opera before.
I have been critical of Opera Austalia’s productions before, for example, ‘Aida’ last year asked too much of its cast. However, on that occasion, the singing was exceptional, and one could forgive the director. Many years ago, a production of ‘Nabucco’ demanded too much of the singers but sing they did and brought the piece home triumphantly. I remember the tenor had to sing an aria lying flat on his stomach locked in a cage at the front of the stage. What these directors don’t realize is that they put the audience in a frightful position, instead of relaxing and listening, we are tense and worried for the singers’ safety.
I must say, I got up this morning and put on Maria Callas’ recording of ‘La Traviata’, this grounded me, once again. One time in Venice, I bought a ticket from one of those young people who are standing around the narrow calli in Venice, saying, ‘This is on tonight, do you want a ticket’. These are semi-professional companies who perform for the love of their art. On this occasion, it was for ‘La Traviata’ and I said yes. I went along, having to find my way on a water taxi and a lot of walking, but the production was remarkably good, and I can safely say, these semi-professionals in Venice, on that night, got closer to the truth of Verdi’s work than Opera Australia did last night.
I was fortunate to see Sutherland and Pavarotti perform ‘La Traviata’, you could not even imagine last night’s performance was of the same work.
As an aside, see Zeffirelli’s fine film version of ‘La Traviata’, containing three brilliant performances.
Oh dear, I’ve been very grumpy today.
Star Rating: 2/5 - just. [A great disappointment for me.] - just. [A great disappointment for me.]