Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Circle (Seat L36, A$119).
Flanked by the two ballet dancers are: Annina, Alfredo, Conductor, Violetta, Giorgio, (probably) the Doctor.
Story. See prior posts.
Conductor - Johannes Fritzsch. Violetta Valery - Samantha Clarke; Alfredo Germont - Ji-Min Park; Giorgio Germont - Jose Carbo; Flora Bervoix - Angela Hogan; Gastone - Virgilio Marino; Baron Douphol - Richard Anderson; Marquis d'Obigny - Luke Gabbedy; Doctor Grenvil - Shane Lowrencev; Annina - Catherine Bouchier.
This is the last of the three operas for my Sydney visit. It restored my faith that OA can produce operas at a very high standard, even though there were some aspects of the performance that were uneven.
The sets are simple, yet quite effective. The stage is divided into three parts, the left (for the audience) is used as Violetta's bedroom and location for "behind the scene" events. The center stage is - well - the center stage. It is the ball room, the living room, the ballet stage, and the bedroom as the opera unfolds. The right stage is also for "off-screen" purposes. The headings for the four acts are: Violetta's Paris Salon, Violetta's home outside Paris; Party at Flora's home; and Violetta's bedroom. For the scene where Giorgio tries to talk Violetta into leaving the relationship, a bride (presumably Alfredo's sister) and groom appear in the background, and props such as a tree and flowers are used for different scenes. The setups are such that a lot of this background is blocked from my view in the Circle, and I am sure for many other sections as well. They do add some poignancy to what is unfolding on the main stage.
The story is a very familiar one, even though different productions can emphasize different aspects of the plot. For me the arc is always from a brief moment of bliss to separation, bitterness, despair, reconciliation, and death. The music did that well enough, but Violetta had a frown on practically from the beginning of the opera. It was like her fate was sealed from the beginning; while that wouldn't surprise anyone, going from bliss to despair probably would elicit a more powerful emotional response for the audience.
Some operas succeed and fail on the singing of the protagonist: La Traviata, La Boheme, and Carmen come readily to mind. Samantha Clarke as Violetta did well in that regard. For the last scene where she is very sick, she just has her make up removed by Annina in the "left room." Interesting and effective, but not necessarily complimentary.
Singing the role of Alfredo, Ji-Min Park has a voice that carried well into the auditorium. He had considerable intonation problems when he first started, then things seemed to settle down. As the performance went on, the intonation problems crept back, usually when he had to sing sustained high notes at volume.
Jose Carbo as Giorgio was a solid performer, although the word "bland" also comes to mind. Somehow his demands on Violetta sounded a lot more unreasonable tonight. Was that due to the performance, or the perception of the listener on that day? Perhaps that's why live performances are interesting, good or bad.
While Baron Duphol (spelled both ways in the Playbill) isn't a major role, the singer Richard Anderson sang in all three operas I saw this week. He was a last minute substitute in The Barber of Seville.
I know the music of the opera quite well, and really enjoyed how the orchestra added to the opera experience. Unlike the prior performance (Barber of Seville), it rarely overwhelmed the singers.
Well deserved applause for Samantha Clarke. This is the happiest she looked the entire evening.
On display are gowns worn by Violetta in different OA productions.
In searching the web I came across several articles that seemed to confirm that the auditorium has a sound enhancement system. The theater, with about 1500 seats, is on the small side. Also, today's surtitles were in English only.
At 2 1/2 hours, including an intermission, this isn't a particularly long opera. If one wants to cut down the duration a bit, may I suggest start with the two ballets that begin Act III? While the music is nice, and for today the ballet dancers are good, the ballets are not germane to the story. If they abridge The Magic Flute and Cinderella, why not this opera?
The CEO of OA announced her resignation a couple of days ago, after three years on the job. Evidently the artistic director left recently also. On top of that, a director extended an emergency loan to the company. Trouble brewing somewhere? Hopefully it doesn't boil over.
I am staying in Forestville, so to get back I walked about 20 minutes to Martin Place to catch M1 to Chatswood, followed by an Uber ride. It took about 55 minutes.
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