La traviata - Round 2

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.

With only a few years between Keenlyside and Piotr Beczala, the motive may have been a sound one, but it was hard to believe Beczala's mature and self-confident Alfredo would bend to the will of quite such a feeble dodderer.

Yet this is clearly revival director Rodula Gaitanou's intent. She transposes the production's time-honoured second act shove, so that it's Alfredo who knocks his father to the floor, rather than the other way round as usual (I think I can use that word now it's on its 20th-ish run).  No change is without consequences though, and the risk here is that Alfredo is set up as a violent bully with a hair-trigger temper, and his later rejection of Violetta is merely an off-the-cuff physical outburst.

The ageing of Germont is not without vocal implications either. Keenlyside's voice is barely touched by his years, and he's never had those basso depths that convey age without effort. I'm sure it'll come across just fine on the radio, but from a baritone who's mastered looking cool in puffy pants and tights (Don Carlo) and falling in love dressed as a marshmallow (Pelléas) it lacks an edge of conviction on stage.

Not only is the Royal Opera House's answer to The Mousetrap on the second of its four casts this season, it also has a fresh conductor - Patrick Lange, making his house debut.

Lange carved out some brilliant detailing. The Overture's 'barrel organ' has never come across so clearly - the thoroughness of his preparation was obvious within mere bars. But he also played dangerously with some extreme and unconventional tempos. Dramatically, this pointed up shifts in mood with startling clarity and sat well with Ailyn Pérez's conception of Violetta as a woman in constant struggle between emotional inclination and moral duty.

But the singers often seemed wary and confused by the unfamiliar pacing. Whether inadequate communication or insufficient rehearsal should be blamed, it's hard to say.  But the results were painfully obvious - a few minor partings of the way, near-meltdown as Alfredo and Violetta began their final act duet, and a general feeling of tension and unease that seemed to permeate the entire evening.

This was most obvious in Pérez's first act, marked by erratic tuning, pinched tone and wavering coloratura. Fortunately a plusher tone eventually won through. Elegantly floated pianissimos combined with her fragile beauty to produce a Violetta of compelling vulnerability - she seems truly inside the role in a way even the greatest singers sometimes aren't. I hope I'm not being overgenerous in assuming her shortness of breath was just a theatrical effect.

Beczala, while a practiced Alfredo, wasn't the ideal pairing. He looked (and acted) old enough to be her pervy uncle. But the audience responded enthusiastically to his rugged, well-crafted singing. One of this excellent production's strengths is that it can digest almost any singer's personal interpretation, but I do think that sometimes encourages the ROH to just chuck any big name in the hat, knowing they'll escape without embarrassment or discomfort.

No complaints about the supporting cast though, with a particularly strong Annina from Gaynor Keeble, a vibrant Flora from Hanna Hipp and Daniel Grice's suave Marquis D'Obigny the pick of the bunch.

*(wisely) not applied for the production shots below 

production photos (above)  - Catherine Ashmore / Royal Opera House

curtain call photos (below) - intermezzo.typepad.com

And courtesy of Kyoko, here's the curtain call on video:

Comments

[asperia]

funny, only Simon´s acting could have saved it:))), he looks great even with grey hair, hard to believe him to be Beczala´s father :))))

[Rannaldini]

I heard Lange conduct Fledermaus at the Vienna State on New Years Day this year and he was excellent. He knew every note of the score and the orchestra (largely the same from that mornings "New Years Day Concert" clearly enjoyed working for him. He was roundly cheered by all. One to watch?

[Andres]

"Royal Opera House's answer to The Mousetrap". Priceless.

[Ruth]

And the phrase of the day is....

CARAMELISED BADGER.

[Ruth]

Despite this having been press night, and to all intents and purposes marketed as the first night, this cast actually opened with a matinee last Friday. I was at both, and although some of the same issues between pit and stage were evident at both, Friday's performance had a magic which Monday's, I felt, lacked. Perez blew me away on Friday; on Monday, she merely impressed (and frustrated me somewhat, because she did not give of her best on the night the critics were in).

I'll be seeing it again from better seats late in the current cast's run; I suspect that visibility of Perez's facial expressions will enhance the experience considerably.

[romano endrighi]

I attended Friday's matinee performance and despite a very rude attendant in the balcony section who refused to let me sit in a row where there were several free sits (she said they are occupied-is that the House new policy? ) I was very impressed by Mr Beczala performance. I would have loved to see him with Marina P. in November instead of Mr Valenti. Ms Perez was certainly a good Violetta but I felt at times she needed a bit more spinto (especially in Gran Dio Morir si giovine)

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Intermezzo replies - You are mistaken - in common with every theatre I can think of, it has never been house policy to let people occupy vacant seats. It's a bad business move and it upsets people who've paid full price. If you got away with it in the past, it's because the ushers didn't notice you, or turned a blind eye (which they often seem to do).

[simon]

@Ruth
You are seeing this production 3 times! No wonder they keep repeating it.

[Ruth]

@Simon
I couldn't possibly admit to how many times I am seeing this production...

[Nikolaus Vogel]

IM - in Italy, France, Belgium and Germany I'm always seeing people waiting until the lights are going down to make a dash for any accessible seats. I usually think they must be people who have been let into the house by usher friends and told to take their chance. Every performance I;ve attended at La Monnaie is like this. Presumably it goes on with the tacit approval of the management. Or perhaps they are afraid that if this "perk" is taken away they might have a strike on their hands (in Italy, France or Belgium, anyway).

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Intermezzo replies - I see it as well - I think it is as you suggest tolerated rather than permitted, otherwise why wait for the lights? On the other hand, every time I've been to the TCE in Paris I've seen people being physically thrown out for attempting to grab an empty fauteuil downstairs. Lindenoper tickets actually state you can be asked to leave if you change seats (it doesn't stop the tidal wave moving down from the upper rungs, which are often picked clean by the interval).

[Manou]

I was at Traviata yesterday and had a wonderful evening until it occurred to me that Perez looks exactly like Michael Jackson (and all his sisters) post-op. Then it got a bit weird. But she was fine, really - a pocket Violetta with bags of energy and exemplary dying.

[Nikolaus Vogel]

Hihi Manou! C'est pas gentille!

[Manou]

C'est pas gentil - mais c'est exact.

[Romano Endrighi]

P Beczala and A Perez were truly outstanding on Tuesday 6th of December. I was impressed by the them both and surely noticed a large improvement since the Friday matinee a few weeks back.
The performance was also recorded by BBC radio to be broadcast on NYE. I left the House very happy on Tuesday night, what a grand way to end the year

[Dode Pink]

Saturday 17th Dec 2011. Ailyn Perez - absolutley amazing. Piotr Beczala - very good. Simon Keenlyside as an old git from the Fast Show, even with his fine voice, was not convincing. Last year Thomas Hampson played a very complex Germont, so much more inhabiting the role.

[Romano Endrighi]

Dear Dode I am glad you attended yesterday's performance and were able to see Ms Perez, I have to say that I was tempted to grab another last-minute ticket but couldn't find one. It is so great to see such a moving interpretation by an artist that might not be as well known as previous Violettas in Covent Garden but that nonetheless gives such a well rounded interpretation. I have a ticket for January 17 to see Anna Netrebko but even if she doesn't show up I shall be content..

[Ruth]

Romano:

" I have a ticket for January 17 to see Anna Netrebko but even if she doesn't show up I shall be content."

That's exactly what I said to somebody yesterday.

I HAVE been grabbing last-minute tickets and seeing this cast as often as possible. It's a shame that the 28th November performance, when Intermezzo and the press were in, was by far the weakest of the performances I have seen.

I can categorically say that Ailyn Perez is my favourite Covent Garden Violetta (I counted that I've seen 12 sopranos in this production, though Netrebko is one I have yet to see). I hope she will be back within a couple of seasons to sing it again...

[romano endrighi]

Well now it is official no A. Netrebko on the 17 and 20 next month.So we have indeed to be content. Happy new year