Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Balcony (Seat C119, $104.50).
Story. See
previous post.
Conductor – Betrand de Billy. Violetta – Lisette Oropesa; Baron Douphol –
Dwayne Croft; Alfredo – Piero Pretti; Annina – Maria Zifchak; Germont – Luca
Salsi.
When I did my CYO series a while ago, I reluctantly
included this opera so we could have the required number of operas for the
subscription. My original plan was to
switch to an opera we might actually want to see, thanks to the generous
exchange policies of the Met. Nothing
wrong with the opera, except my perceived familiarity with it. A search on this blog returned only two
entries: once by NYCO, once by the Met.
And the Met one was in 2013.
I am glad I never got around to exchanging the tickets
(although we did change the date due to a conflict), as this was a really
enjoyable opera – to the extent a tragedy can be enjoyed.
First a few words about the production. Tonight’s production could not be more
different from the one we saw in 2013.
In the latter sparse and black were the main ideas. The current production (debuted last season)
was as ornate as could be. The chorus
members were all dressed in fancy clothes, no two alike as far as I could tell. There were many colors, but not the bright
satin pastel one would expect, but a “matte” (for lack of a better adjective)
sheen. For the ballet scene the dancers
were also dressed more traditionally.
Interestingly, the same “furniture” was used in all 3 acts. It’s hard to rationalize why the bed belonged
in the ballet scenes of gypsies and matadors.
The curtain was raised as the orchestra played the overture. We see Violetta dead in her bed, with Alfredo
next to her, and several other characters also in the room (I recall Germont,
Annina, and the doctor). As the overture
drew to a close, Violetta sat up, left her bed, and walked backstage. She came back out in her courtesan dress as
Act I unfolds. This reminds me of
Agrippina where all the characters were introduced at the beginning lying on
their tombs, and the opera ended with them back on their tombs. No, it’s not the same producer; perhaps this the
technique currently in vogue.
One can like or dislike the production, but there is no
doubt the singing was great. We were in
our usual balcony seats, and were amazed at how strong the voices came
across. While everyone held his/her own,
Oropesa clearly stood out. Turns out I
have seen her perform several times before, as far back in 2011 as a Rhinemaiden. During the second act her voice faded a bit,
but came back strongly in the final act.
Conductor de Billy flanked by Oropesa and Pretti. The chorus didn't come out for the curtain call, which was too bad. It added a lot to the opera, and wore colorful, over-the-top costumes.
One of Giorgio Germont’s arguments is that Alfredo has a
sister whose finance would leave her if Alfredo stays with Violetta. For this production the sister shows up as
Giorgio visits Violetta – not sure if that adds to anything as the sister does nothing. Also in the final act she walks across the
stage in a bride’s outfit, with a long train.
Anne said these little things made for a more realistic story. I say things like this detract from the
opera. Case in point: the opening scene ruined
a very well played overture.
Overall, a very enjoyable evening. There were many empty seats in the auditorium,
I wonder how much the coronavirus COVID-19 is making people reluctant to
attend public events.
We drove in, and had takeout in the car, again.
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