By Megan
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcIwYTkaB0M
Available until: Sunday 29th August 2021, 5pm
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is going ahead this year which is brilliant but they are still very kindly putting some of their previous productions on their YouTube channel for us to enjoy. Or get very sad about in this case.
La traviata is one of the best-known operas with really gorgeous, emotional music and a story which is easy to follow and which actually makes sense most of the time. (There are subtitles if you don’t speak Italian.) It is based on Alexandre Dumas fils’ novel La Dame aux Camélias. The opera is set in the past world of courtesans and consumption but I think it is very relatable to the present day. A lot of people know what it’s like to be separated from someone you love and I think the whole world knows how cruel illness can be.
Violetta meets Alfredo at a party and they like each other and it seems to be going really well. But she has a bit of a bad reputation and it is affecting Alfredo’s family and his dad isn’t too happy about it. It’s opera so it all gets very dramatic but it’s a really wonderful story.
It’s conducted by Mark Elder and he does a really good job of bringing out the beauty of the music and emotion and giving the singers (and the audience) time to feel every emotion. Director Tom Cairns puts a strong focus on Violetta’s mental and emotional strength which is a big contrast with her physical weakness and also with Alfredo who is led by his emotions all the way through. I really like this idea as it shows that Violetta isn’t shallow and she is intelligent. Hildegard Bechtler’s set and Peter Mumford’s lighting is beautiful and it also hints at the darkness of Violetta’s future.
Venera Gimadieva is a strong-minded Violetta and if you admire her before you start to love her I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. Ms Gimadieva has a rich and full soprano which is full of emotion and beauty. Michael Fabiano is a passionate and emotional Alfredo, maybe not very practical but very loving which I think is more important.
Tassis Christoyannis is quite an imposing and formal Giorgio Germont but I love the way you get little glimpses of who he is underneath and how he changes during the opera. He doesn’t seem mean exactly. I think he tries to do the right thing and gets it wrong. His arias are really beautiful. The rest of the cast includes Hanna Hipp as an animated Flora and Graeme Broadbent as a very kind but professional Dr Grenvil.
This is a really good production of La
traviata. I think if you like the opera you really like this performance
and it would also be a good one to start with if you haven’t seen an opera but
you would like to.
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