There are many singular qualities in Verdi’s 1853 opera, La Traviata based on Alexander Dumas fils’s smash hit play, La dame aux camélias which in turn was based on his mildly successful 1848 novel of the same name. It is one of Verdi’s most beloved works. The music is supremely beautiful. The overture in particular is one of Verdi’s best. It is his only work that takes place in his own time. It is one of Verdi’s most intimate works, taking place at a decidedly human scale. And Alfredo, the tenor character is a schlup.
He is not a stalwart hero like Radames in Aida nor does he have the touch of villainy that makes the Duke in Rigoletto charming.
Traviata belongs to Violetta, the soprano, and to the bass-baritone elder Germont, Alfredo’s father. I’ll make no secret of it: Act II Scene 1 of Traviata, much of it a faceoff between these two characters, is my favorite part of the opera. The confrontation between Germont the voice of convention (or, as he puts it, “the will of God”) and Violetta’s natural nobility is simply splendid, both dramatically and musically. Elizabeth Futral and Mark Delavan are pictured in this scene at right.
I think that explains one of the reasons that the opera has endured. Actresses want to play Camille (as the character is called in the English language translation and the Garbo movie). Sopranos want to sing Violetta.
Elizabeth Futral, beautiful, slender, and petite, makes a very affecting Violetta. She is very cleary one of our best light lyric sopranos. While she does not have an enormous voice, it is lovely and controlled from the very lowest point of her range to its top, from pianissimos to fortissimos. Her pianissimos are lustrous and audible, a rarity in a soprano. What technique!
Mark Delavan’s elder Germont was also quite good. His strong presence, acting, and fine voice were mutually reinforcing, creating a vivid characterization of Germont. Germont has a gravity that I think is a notably Latin type and, as I said to my wife last night, I don’t think it’s possible for anyone but a Latin to get that part completely right but Mark Delavan came very close.
Joseph Calleja, making his Lyric Opera debut, gave a competent performance as Alfredo. I found his voice good and highly controlled but I thought his singing was lacking in emotional intensity. He’s quite young, has many good years before him, and I look forward to hearing how this young tenor develops in the years to come.
We’ve seen this same production of La Traviata quite a number of times over the last dozen or so years. This time around I thought the staging was much improved particularly on the part of the chorus who actually seemed to be thrilled that they had something to do. The choreography in Act II Scene 2, too, was much better than Lyric’s expected abysmally low standards. Possibly the best dancing we’ve seen at Lyric.
All in all, a good but not great performance of La Traviata.
