The current ENO La traviata was first seen in Graz back in 2011. Ioan Holender (yes that one) secured a peek at rehearsals and an interview with director Peter Konwitschny for his Austrian TV show kulTOUR mit Holender. Watch above - in German with English subtitles.
And for those who can't get to the London performances, or just want a preview/reminder, here's the finished show in full:
Continue reading "Behind the scenes at Konwitschny's La traviata" »
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My blog runneth over with ENO discount deals. Right now they seem even more plentiful than usual - no doubt the recent financial revelations have increased the pressure to fill seats.
The Ambassador Theatre Group are the latest organisation to join the merry band of cut-price ticket providers, with half price offers on the new Peter Konwitschny La traviata and the revival of Jonathan Miller's The Barber of Seville.
All seating areas are included in the offer (even stalls), and all dates after 21 February. Seats are picked for you on a 'best available' basis, but you are shown exactly which seat numbers have been picked before you pay. It appears ATG have been given a limited allocation, as not all areas are available on every night.
Thanks to reader Alex for spotting.
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Andrea Breth's new production of La traviata for La Monnaie places Violetta in a brothel, the victim of Eastern European sex traffickers. There's an orgy in Act 2, and plucky servant Annina (the redoubtable Carole Wilson) has to give Dr Grenvil a blow job to secure his services.
It's all about the commodification of sex reckons Manuel Brug of Die Welt, who was impressed.
See for yourselves between 5 and 25 January 2013, when the show will be streamed FREE on La Monnaie's web site. Those in continental Europe can catch it a bit sooner; it's shown on Arte Live Web on 15 December.
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"To realise the magic of our beautiful tin simply twist the body
anticlockwise and the delicately embossed horses prance to the lilting
melody of La Traviata. To complete this feast on the senses the tin
holds a scintillating selection of our scrumptious biscuits
in seven different flavours, including our clotted cream digestives,
luscious lemon thins and chocolate & macadamia nut."
Fortnum and Mason
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La traviata - Royal Opera House, 17 January 2012
Four years ago to the day, a barely-known Albanian soprano named Ermonela Jaho made an unexpected Covent Garden debut in La traviata. Anna Netrebko had pulled out sick at short notice. With just hours to prepare, Jaho charmed, moved and placated the disappointed audience. Last night, with Netrebko sick again, Jaho was called in to repeat her coup - or more accurately, to extend her already-scheduled run.
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La traviata - Royal Opera House, 28 November 2011
I'm guessing Simon Keenlyside did his own grey hairspray* on Monday night and forgot to check the back. I mean, he can't have been going for the caramelised badger look deliberately. Can he?
It was part of his stab at playing Germont much older than I can recall any other singer attempting in this production - even last month's Leo Nucci. Accessorised with a walking stick that he sometimes forgot he needed and a stoop that failed to mask his natural gymnast's posture, he recalled my own brother's portrayal of Polonius. In the school play, aged 16.
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La traviata - Royal Opera House, 3 October 2011
Don't worry if you missed this performance - there are another 21 to go. Yes, it's safe to say that if you're fond of La traviata, Covent Garden is the place to be this autumn. With three casts, three conductors, two separate revival directors and a couple of bonus appearances from Anna Netrebko, you'll be spoilt for choice.
Continue reading "Royal Opera House Traviata marathon begins" »
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La Traviata - Royal Opera House, 11 May 2010 (first night)
One big star - step forward Dmitri Hvorostovsky - wasn't quite enough to give make this umpteenth showing of Richard Eyre's gracefully ageing production twinkle quite as brightly as its last two revivals.
Continue reading "La traviata resuscitated at Royal Opera House " »
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And so 2009/10 draws to a close with the usual tourist-friendly summer fare from the Royal Opera House.
The highlight (especially since he had to cancel Tamerlano) is Plácido Domingo's appearance in and as Simon Boccanegra (29 June to 15 July). We've all found out by now that he's not exactly a perfect fit - but then these days, who is? And it might be his last appearance at Covent Garden. And WTF he's Plácido Domingo. That's enough to make it essential. A cast that includes Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Joseph Calleja with Maestro Pappano himself conducting should compensate for Elijah Moshinsky's tired production.
Running it close is a new Laurent Pelly production of Massenet's Manon (22 June to 2 July) with Anna Netrebko in the title role. Pappano conducts again, and gorgeous Vittorio Grigolo makes his Covent Garden debut.
David McVicar's slightly fussy but intelligent Le Nozze di Figaro (31 May to 17 June) makes a swift return, with Erwin Schrott and a delightful springer spaniel vying for the cuteness award. As if that's not enough, Sir Colin Davis conducts most dates, making it a must-see.
Another McVicar, Salome (3 July to 16 July), has its first revival, with Angela Denoke in the title role and Hartmut Haenchen conducting. "Contains scenes of nudity and violence" - but not where you'd think.
Angela Gheorghiu lovers will be flocking to La Traviata (8 July to 17 July), though it may be James Valenti and Zeljko Lucic who make it worth seeing. Richard Eyre's production is a fine and thoughtful one, though anyone who catches it in May with Ermonela Jaho doesn't really need to see it again.
A swift resuscitation of Francesca Zambello's godawful Carmen (5 June to 26 June) has little to recommend it this time round apart from perhaps Christine Rice in the title role.
In the Linbury Studio, George Benjamin's Into the Little Hill (23 July to 26 July), here coupled with Berio's Recital I, comes highly recommended.
The Bolshoi visit in August, with a critically-acclaimed production of Eugene Onegin the only opera amidst endless nights of ballet (which to be honest, is probably a safer bet).
Friends' booking opens on 3 March and general booking on 6 April.
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La traviata - Royal Opera House, 22 June 2009
Yes, the unthinkable has happened. An American import more obnoxious than Paris Hilton has found its way to WC2. Tonight, as the curtain drew back on Act 2 scene 2 of La traviata, a small but not insignificant group *applauded* the admittedly sumptuous 19th century gaming salon and its splendid array of frocks and furbelows (above). From the posh seats, too.
I have myself travelled amongst the American peoples - so like us and yet so different - and have observed that from east coast to west, it is their custom to put their hands together once the Zeffirelli coefficient (measured as the number of crinolines multiplied by the yards of drapery on stage) exceeds the number of people in the audience who are actually listening to the music.
Over there, I find it harmless and moderately amusing. Over here, it is the first omen of the apocalypse. I know the theatre this time of year is filled with people who don't go the opera when there's an R in the month, but that's no excuse. I can forgive phones, coughs, sweets, late arrivals and dropped programmes, but not this. It hasn't happened before, and it mustn't happen again.
Was that what put Pappano off his stride? I doubt it, but pit and stage drifted apart more times than I bothered to count tonight. Still, it can't be easy running an opera house, conducting a high profile production, and on top of that having to prepare yet another recital programme for the Rolando Dmitri Fab Four concert on Wednesday at 48 hours notice. Allowances can be made.
UPDATE - for those who emailed wondering wanting more detail on the production - my first night pensées are here.
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La traviata - Royal Opera House, 17 June 2009 (first night)
For all the prodigious technical gifts of Covent Garden's Coughing Cougar of the Camellias©, I left this show unconvinced that La traviata is the best place to display them. The steely edge that shapes Renee Fleming's luxuriantly creamy tone here becomes a coat of armour. Not a chink of vulnerability peeping through.
Every Violetta needs backbone - it is after all her iron resolve and strength of character that so impress Germont. But this becomes the defining characteristic of Renee's Violetta. It makes her proclamations of love hollow and her tragic end self-regarding. The key weapon of the courtesan - making the man believe he's in charge - is never displayed. And the act around which the whole plot pivots - Violetta's sacrifice - is rendered simply unbelievable. Why would this feisty Scarlett O'Hara give up the man she loves if there's nothing in it for her?
In her Sempre libera, Renee pauses to deliver a cheeky arse-slap to the naked lady ice sculpture (one of this production's delightfully subtle references to the evanescence of beauty). The way she lined up to the sculpture, pausing before administering the immaculately-judged tap, robbing the moment of all spontaneity, exemplified everything about her approach. I bet she irons her knickers.
The little-known Ermonela Jaho, who stepped into the part last year, has nothing like Renee's technical prowess, but her portrayal was an infinitely more touching one. That said, it was impossible to remain unimpressed by Renee's craft, her magnificent breath control, effortless trills and artfully-considered nuances of tone. A croaky start and her habitually mushy diction aside, she was a living, breathing singing lesson - impossible to imagine anyone improving on her musical choices, or executing them with greater skill.
She looks splendid too. She may be 50, but Restylane and Pilates belie the fact. When Germont sings of her youth and beauty, you believe him. The age difference is gracefully set aside in her relationship with Joseph Calleja, who is in reality young enough to be her son. It's more of a seasoned Sarandon/Robbins pairing than a cradle-snatching Madonna'n'Jesus - no suspension of disbelief required.
That's a tribute to the stature of Calleja's Alfredo as well. He's a little too easily flattened by Hurricane Renee - the second act denunciation comes off as a brave attempt to stand up for himself. But especially in his scenes with Germont, there is a growing maturity and confidence about his performance. But he's never too knowing - Alfredo's weakness and impetuousness are effectively conveyed as he cowers before his father. Calleja's singing is old-fashioned in the best possible sense - a big, powerful masculine voice with a touching lyrical side.
He was one of the best things about the evening, alongside Thomas Hampson's Germont. Hampson's voice sounded less fresh than the last time I heard him. Whether it's an artfully-created effect for this role, or simply the toll of time, who knows, but it conveyed Germont's patrician demeanour to perfection. Hampson has never been a 'Verdi baritone', but he's a terrific singer and actor, so who cares?
One of the most gratifying aspects of this revival was the care and attention to detail taken with the smaller roles, perhaps an effect of Richard Eyre's return as director. Sarah Pring as Annina, Kostas Smoriginas as the Marquis D'Obigny and Haoyin Xue as Gastone were particularly impressive, and the chorus were well-deployed, though never fussily so.
I was pleased to see Eyre hadn't changed much. Bob Crowley's mostly tightly-packed boxy sets not only look good, they provide those all-important hard reverberent surfaces to bounce the singers' voices off. The decor may look busy, but it's mostly deceptively achieved with surface pattern and lighting.
Only the last act, which should be the emptiest, looks over-cluttered, with too many bits'n'bobs for the singers to bash into and knock over, and too much of the action forced into the central space. I love the dressmaker's dummy with its skeletal skirt frame though, a reminder of Violetta's parties past.
The action is grippingly choreographed - I think everyone in the theatre gasped as Germont shoved Alfredo to the ground in the second act. The only failing remains Violetta's much-debated speed-lap round the bed moments before her death. The comedy is only piled on when, instead of expiring wiltingly in Alfredo's arms, Renee rams at full speed into his 'ample middle range' (thank you Edward Seckerson) like a quarterback hitting a blocker five yards from touchdown. Does she die of consumption or concussion?
The Royal Opera House orchestra have been playing splendidly recently, and this night was no exception. Pappano caressed them through the preludes like a tiny newborn kitten, as if he were trying to compensate for Renee's lack of fragility. Precious moments of introspection before red-blooded passion and champagne sparkle took over. Traviata is not generally reckoned the best of Verdi's scores, but Pappano makes you realise it's anything but routine.
Performances of this level of all-round quality don't come around often. It's a reminder that the problem with most traditional stagings of familiar operas is not the traditionalism or the familiarity, but simply that they're done without the love and care and skill and thought lavished upon this one.
******** Click over to see Renee Fleming senza makeup and more! ********
Continue reading "La traviata at the Royal Opera House - Renee Fleming coughs up" »
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Thomas Hampson may not be everyone's idea of a Verdi baritone, but on the showing of today's dress rehearsal, he may turn out to be the best thing about the Royal Opera House's forthcoming La traviata revival. At least he fully inhabited his role, and he sang unarguably well. Renee Fleming and Joseph Calleja both made predictably lovely sounds, but she overplayed and he underplayed, and neither convinced me of any passion for each other. Still, they've got two days to sort it out. The orchestra, at least, sound quite ravishing, and Pappano has introduced a few daring little tricks that prove he understands this score as much as he loves it.
Unlike most of the critics, I really quite like Richard Eyre's 1994 production - it has a traditional look, but there's more to it than comfortingly sumptuous decor. Much has been made of his return to Covent Garden to personally direct it (last year's revival and others were left to underlings). Thankfully, he doesn't seemed to have messed with much. But I was disappointed by the accumulation of stage clutter and pointless action in Act 3, which used to make an eloquent point about the price of freedom with its vast emptiness.
A couple of comic additions had my whole row shuddering with suppressed giggles. Perhaps they were one-off experiments/cock-ups rather than misjudgements, but I will explain no further at this stage in case it spoils anyone's opening night surprise. Just keep your eyes peeled at the end.
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Buried deep, deep within the tangled bowels of the Royal Opera House website is an exciting (well, if you're a singer anyway) competition. Such is the tortuous navigational path you probably won't even have noticed it unless you got lost on your way to the cinema listings.
It's a singing contest, and the prize is the opportunity to sing live in Trafalgar Square during the intervals of the Big Screen live broadcast of La traviata on 30 June while an audience of thousands rests its ears from the awesome power of the Fleming/Hampson/Calleja machine.
The winners (one male and one female) will receive coaching at the Royal Opera House during the day and a night at a five star hotel to follow. Plus instant celebrity of course.
You need to video yourself singing an aria and send it in by DVD or upload it to YouTube by 19 June. There's nothing up on YouTube yet, so unless hundreds of shy entrants have been secretly sending in DVDs, I would say you're in with a good chance statistically, whether you're a Guildhall shining star or just a tubsinger with an ego.
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Here first! - a full list of all the Royal Opera House's main stage productions for the 2009/10 season.
The 2009/10 Covent Garden season opens with neither bang nor whimper but with a credit-crunching concert performance on 7 September (repeated on 14 September). Makes a change from last year's Sun readers' special I suppose.
The opera in question is Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix, and the conductor is bel canto genius Mark Elder. The cast includes potential Next Big Things Stephen Costello, Eglise Gutierrez and Luciano Botelho, plus the incomparable Alessandro Corbelli, the first of several welcome appearances this season.
The first staged opera of the season is Nicholas Hytner's lego-loving Don Carlo, with - OMG!- Jonas Kaufmann !!! in the title role. John Tomlinson joins him as the Grand Inquisitor, and the rest of the cast is lifted straight from the first run - Marina Poplavskaya, Simon Keenlyside, fans' favourite Ferruccio Furlanetto, Sonia Ganassi and Pumeza Matshikiza.The conductor is Semyon Bychkov.
This season's contribution to the 2013 Wagnerversary is a new Christof Loy production of Tristan und Isolde. Antonio Pappano conducts Ben Heppner, Nina Stemme, Matti Salminen, Michael Volle and Sophie Koch.
Neigh! Francesco Zambello's ghastly Carmen returns in October, with the latest Covent Garden favourite Elina Garanca back for the title role, fighting off Roberto Alagna, Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, and a farmyard full of furry friends. Bertrand de Billy conducts. It's resuscitated again in June 2010 with a distinctly 'B' cast.
October also sees one of Richard Jones's more subtle and effective efforts back on stage - and attractively cast. The shouldn't-work-but-it-does double bill of Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole (Christine Rice, Yann Beuron, Christopher Maltman, Andrew Shore and Bonaventura Bottone) and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (Thomas Allen, Maria Bengtsson and Stephen Costello) is conducted by Pappano.
Francesco Zambello steps into Tchaikovsky's The Slippers in November. The new production will be conducted by Alexander Polianichko and features some serious talent fresh from the Mariinsky - Olga Guryakova, Vsevolod Grivnov, Larissa Diadkova, Vladimir Matorin and Maxim Mikhailov.
John Schlesinger's elderly Der Rosenkavalier is dusted off in December. Kirill Petrenko conducts and the cast includes Soile Isokoski, Sophie Koch, Thomas Allen and Lucy Crowe.
Littering the December and January schedules is the inevitable La Bohème. This time Andris Nelsons conducts most of the double-cast performances, which begin with Piotr Beczala and Hibla Gerzmava and end with not a few tbc's.
Robert Lepage's intermittently effective Rake's Progress returns in January 2010. Ingo Metzmacher, Toby Spence (a Tom Rakewell tdf), Kate Royal, Kyle Ketelsen and Stephanie Blythe promise much on the musical side.
Female conductor alert! Top Lisboan Julia Jones wields the baton over Jonathan Miller's Cosi fan Tutte in January. The cast includes Charles Castronovo and Sally Matthews.
A new Richard Jones production of Prokofiev's The Gambler in February is conducted by Pappano, with a cast including Roberto Sacca, Angela Denoke, John Tomlinson and Jurgita Adamonyte.
Plácido Domingo's first appearance of the season is as a tenor. Graham Vick's acclaimed production of Handel's Tamerlano (recorded in Madrid and available on DVD con Plácido)
Bill Bryden's family-friendly The Cunning Little Vixen returns in March with Emma Matthews, Christopher Maltman and Emma Bell, though the presence of Charles Mackerras on the podium has to be the main draw.
Caurier and Leiser's lovely Il Turco in Italia is back in April, with Maurizio Benini conducting, and Aleksandra Kursak, Colin Lee, Alessandro Corbelli, Thomas Allen and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo in the cast.
Aida is subjected to the David McVicar magic in April. His new production is conducted by Nicola Luisotti and features Micaela Carosi, Marcelo Alvarez and Luciana D'Intino. Bare naked elephants?
The last of the Big Three, Richard Eyre's subtly intelligent La Traviata, makes its annual appearance in May and July. This time her name's in the programme - Our first Lady of the Camellias is the fabulous former Netrebko sub Ermonela Jaho. Joining her in her long-awaited return to Covent Garden in May are Saimir Pirgu and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. July's 'B' Violetta is Angela Gheorghiu, who makes do with James Valenti and Zeljko Lucic. Yves Abel conducts.
Laurent Pelly's now-legendary La Fille du Régiment returns in May with the unbeatable original cast of Juan Diego Flórez, Natalie Dessay, Alessandro Corbelli and Felicity Palmer back in place. Bruno Campanella conducts.
What would tempt Sir Colin Davis back into the pit? How about David McVicar's Le Nozze di Figaro? Erwin Schrott, Camilla Tilling, Maruisz Kwiecen. Annette Dasch, Soile Isokoski and Christine Schäfer head the strong cast.
Antonio Pappano conducts Laurent Pelly's new Manon, coming to Covent Garden in June with the announced cast including Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. Anyone fancy a bet?
In one of those rare operatic fairy stories, June sees a baritone with less than a year's experience thrust into a leading role at Covent Garden. Yes, it's Plácido Domingo again, and this time he's Simon Boccanegra. Antonio Pappano conducts a strong cast including Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Joseph Calleja. It's the 1991 Elijah Moshinsky production by the way, not the Ian Judge one seen last year.
The season ends in July 2010 with the first revival of David McVicar's controversial Salome. Angela Denoke takes the central role, with Johan Reuter as Jokanaan. Hartmut Haenchen conducts.
No link yet, but more details expected on the Royal Opera House website sometime next week.
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*******UPDATE 22/4*******
The Royal Opera House's press releases are now available on their website. Go here for the summary, here for the opera details and here for the ballet.
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David "I loathe Traviata" McVicar, interviewed in today's Scotsman, judiciously backpedals on the eve of unveiling his new production of, er, Traviata for Scottish Opera.
Concerned that "It is perfectly possible to see a production of La Traviata where the audience have absolutely no idea what the story is about", he's aiming for a more explicit portrayal of its demi-monde setting. So he's made a study of the story's inspiration, Alphonsine Duplessis, and legendary 19th century courtesans like Cora Pearl and La Paiva.
Only Northern Britain merits this meticulousness though: "I would never have accepted at a big American house or Covent Garden because you just wouldn't get the cast to rehearse. They would just turn up with so many preconceptions." Oops?
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Below is a list of Royal Opera House productions and co-productions currently expected (*subject to change*) to show at UK cinemas over the coming year. The Empire chain and the Vue chain are both involved, but specific locations will vary for each production. The full list of cinemas participating in the first screening can now be found on the Royal Opera House website, and I assume details for the later ones will be added in due course. As a price guide, the Empire Leicester Square is charging £20 for the first screening, and the Vue Islington £15. I gather demand is not expected to be high - both are showing in their most bijou of auditoria. Live where marked; reheated sloppy seconds if not:
28th
Production by Mario Martone. Starring Marcelo Alvarez, Violeta Urmana, Carlos Alvarez, Elena Zaremba, and Alessandra Marianelli. Conductor Jesus Lopez Cobos.
26th OCTOBER 2008 TAMERLANO, Madrid
Paul McCreesh conducts Graham Vick’s production of Tamerlano. Plácido Domingo heads the cast, alongside Monica Bacelli, Ann Hallenberg, Isabel Rey, Sara Mingardo and Patricia Bardon.
9th
Antonio Pappano conducts Christine Brewer, Ian Bostridge, Thomas Hampson in a concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall, 2 days before the Armistice Day 90th anniversary.
16th DECEMBER 2008 HANSEL & GRETEL, Royal Opera House live
Sir Colin Davis conducts a new production by Moshe Leiser & Patrice Caurier. The cast includes Diana Damrau, Angelika Kirchschlager, Thomas Allen, Anja Silja, and Elizabeth Connell.
1st FEBRUARY 2009 CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA & PAGLIACCI, Teatro Real, Madrid
Giancarlo del Monaco’s production stars Violetta Urmana, Vincenzo La Scola, Vladimir Galouzine and Maria Bay. Conductor Jesus Lopez Cobos.
22nd FEBRUARY 2009
Filmed in 2003 against the historic paper trompe-l’oeil sets painted between 1936 and 1945 by Josep Mestres Cabanes. Performers include Daniela Dessi, Fabio Armiliato, Roberto Scandiuzzi and Juan Pons, conducted by Miguel Angel Gomez Martinez.
29th MARCH 2009 CARMEN, Royal Opera House
Francesca Zambello’s production. Starring Anna Caterina Antonacci, Jonas Kaufmann, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo and Norah Amsellem. Conductor Antonio Pappano.
3rd MAY 2009 DON CARLO, Royal Opera House
Production by Nicholas Hynter with Rolando Villazón, Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Simon Keenlyside, Sonia Ganassi, Robert Lloyd. Conducted by Antonio Pappano.
30th MAY 2009 LA TRAVIATA, Royal Opera House live
Renée Fleming, Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson in a revival of Richard Eyre's production. Conductor: Antonio Pappano.
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La Traviata - Bayerische Staatsoper, Nationaltheater, Munich, 22 March 2008
I'm not the world's biggest La Traviata fan - it takes an exceptional performance to draw me close to its cold heart. But I happened to be in Munich on the opening night of this revival, and with a second row side Balkon (dress circle) seat available for just 15.50€ - it seemed too good an opportunity to miss.
Of course, the 1/8 or so of the stage I couldn't see (photo left was taken from my seat) happened to be the part where 7/8 of the action was staged, but such is life. The other disadvantage of these seats is that they're barstool height, and the metal footrest gets uncomfortable quite quickly. I wouldn't chance a Wagner marathon sitting here, but it was OK for the snappy La Traviata.
Günter Krämer's crowd-pleasing Art Deco-ish production has been around for a while, but it's not showing its age too badly. Lacquered walls and sparkling crystal suggest the glamour of Violetta's party life, a leaf-strewn sparely furnished garden the deprivations of the country. Violetta's status in her adopted society is none too clearly signalled, but then this production shies from social comment anyway. Neither concept nor visuals distract from the intimacy of the drama - nor, perilously, from any inadequacies in the main performances. Everyone has to deliver in this show, and it was strongly cast.
Norah Amsellem delivered a highly professional Violetta, powerfully and accurately sung, but about as vulnerable as Heather Mills McCartney. You couldn't fault her, but her gritty spunk completely failed to touch any part of my cynical heart either. A sympathetic Violetta is make or break for Traviata, and Amsellem didn't come close. I began to see Germont's point of view for the first time.
He was most ably played tonight by the distinguished looking/sounding Franco Vassallo, surprisingly not even 40 yet. He has all the natural authority and dignity the role requires. His voice isn't quite the burnished mahogany I'd like to hear, but it's warm and effortlessly projected.
Massimo Giordano made an oddly nervy Alfredo to begin with, his powerful tenor overlaid with goaty bleat. His ardour for Violetta was restrained, but it convinced. He couldn't quite stretch to anger at her presumed betrayal. There was perhaps a little too much dignity and not quite enough passion, but at least he has a genuinely Italianate sound.
Massimo Zanetti conducted with tremendous verve, sometimes recklessly fast. He almost lost the chorus in their two fast numbers, but just about held the reins. The orchestra had tremendous polish throughout, never sinking into that default village-band sound that so often accompanies Verdi. It was symptomatic of a slick performance that could have rolled out of the local BMW factory, but never moved me.
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Terrific though Ermonela Jaho was, I do regret that I missed Anna Netrebko in the Royal Opera House's La traviata.
Of course I'm not the only one. "What about my end-of-year round-up and the 2008 awards?" bleats the Observer's Anthony Holden, who nevertheless would rather watch Arsenal. (5-1 is all I'll say to that)
But with only one performance to go and tickets like gold dust, such is the unfairness of life that he'll probably get a ticket and I won't. Needless to say if anyone has a spare....
But at least Netrebko was back for last night's performance ("brilliant" according to a friend who saw it), which was recorded for BBC Radio 3. To be broadcast on Saturday 9 February at 6.30pm.
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La traviata - Royal Opera House, 17 January 2008
Denied the advertised Anna Netrebko due to a sudden-onset 'bronchial condition' (which will no doubt clear as soon as teh shops open), we learned only hours before tonight's Covent Garden performance of La traviata that our replacement Violetta was to be Ermonela Jaho, aka -- 'who?'
Actually, that's not fair -- the name struck a faint bell, and sure enough, a little scrabbling around, and I found her name on a favourite Juan Diego Flórez recording. Well, if she's good enough for JDF.....
The suspiciously perceptive Royal Opera House, who probably by now realise that every Netrebko contract comes with a sicknote, had cannily flown in Jaho the night before. And that's not all - as it became evident that she had every move of this fiddly production pegged, it was obvious Jaho either a) is the world's fastest learner, b) has been cramming DVDs for weeks dreaming of getting 'the call' or c) has somehow and who knows how managed to fit in more than one day's rehearsal.
But enough of the conspiracy theory. Could she do the job? Could she replace the 'once in a generation' performance of the soprano who conquered (-ish) even London's testiest critic?
At first it didn't seem so. In contrast to her classically elegant ballerina looks, her singing was graceless and squally, with a vibrato you could drive a truck through. But she drove pluckily on, and as her solo scene drew the first act to a close, the tone sweetened and smoothed out. Just nerves, then, and who could blame her? Not the easiest way to make a Covent Garden debut.
If her È strano was cautious, her Sempre libera rather buttoned-up, the massive ovation she got at the end of Act I must have boosted her confidence, because after the interval we saw what Jaho could really do.
Jaho may lack Netrebko's brassballed charisma, but she does score in a few areas where Netrebko's not even in the game, namely sincerity, humility and warmth. Her clean, silvery tone is not broadly coloured, nor does she play with dynamic extremes. Nuance rather than gesture is her weapon. As she slid downward through her Act II showdown with Germont père, each tiny straw of hope snatched away from her grasp one by one, the voice glowed and dimmed. Her desperation is corseted and dignified, and all the more credible for it. It was a bravely open performance. I don't doubt Netrebko would have given a very different reading, but Jaho's was subtle, coherent and most of all, touching. I was far from the only one in tears. And more than once.
And I think I should point out that every one of Jaho's notes was clear, even toned and accurately placed - of course that should be a given, but I can't recall the last soprano I heard here who managed it.
Violetta's illness was portrayed in too non-specific a way - not a cough to be heard (plenty to compensate in the audience of course...) and the protracted death scene, delivered as a Dawn of the Dead zombie walk around the set, was misplaced, but otherwise there were no holes to be picked in Jaho's performance.
And she had fine support from Jonas Kaufmann as Alfredo and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Germont. Vocally and dramatically Kaufmann was faultless, and so hawt you could fry eggs on him. And not one second of 'underpowered' either, as some of the first night critics claimed - every note was stadium-sized. Though he remains about as Italian as Hamburger con cipolle, this is no flaw in a performance this dynamic and committed.
Hvorostovsky sang wonderfully throughout, with a great attention to detail. He had the appropriate patrician assurance for most requirements, a natural authority that marked his presence, but couldn't unbend sufficiently to make key moments like his final reconciliation with Violetta work dramatically.
Although none of the smaller roles were hugely impressive, the ROH chorus once again did a fabulous job, despite in some places getting not a lot of help from conductor Maurizio Benini, who should be collared for reckless disregard of an orchestra. There were so many instances when musicians threatened to part company totally with singers. But he did pull out the light, sprightly performance that was needed.
Just before the performance started, a cheer went up. I looked around, and there, in one of the boxes, were a bride and bridegroom in full wedding gear, veil included. What a way to start a honeymoon. I do hope Netrebko didn't ruin their special day by not turning up, but they looked happy enough. There were plenty of people not best pleased before the performance (including some Germans who'd travelled just to see Netrebko) - but I didn't hear one complaint at the end. Could Jaho be the cure for Netrebko cancellitis?
***UPDATE*** - check out another perspective on the same performance, and a useful round up of the reviews, from Mad Musings of Me
above, Ermonela Jaho sings from La traviata - not tonight's production though.
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