Conducted by Dane Lam – Directed by Sarah Giles
Sets & Costumes designed by Charles Davis –
Lighting by Paul Jackson
Lyric Theatre, QPAC, 14 -23rd July
2022
Opening night performance reviewed by Bill
Stephens
One of the most performed operas in the
canon, Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” has some resonance to Verdi’s own
relationship with singer Giuseppina Strepponi who became his lifelong partner
following the death of his wife and two children. The fact that they never
married became a cause for friction between Verdi and the largely Catholic
society in which they existed.
Verdi’s opera depicts the passionate relationship
between a young nobleman, Alfredo Germont and a famous courtesan, Violetta
Valery. When their relationship threatens to become a scandal which will compromise
the reputation of Alfredo’s father, Giorgio, as well as ruin the chances of his
sister to marry advantageously, Giorgio approaches Violetta to end the
relationship.
Unbeknown to both father and son,
Violetta is suffering from an incurable illness. As well she has sold all her
belongings to support her relationship with Alfredo. Therefore, aware that she
is dying Violetta reluctantly agrees.
However, Alfredo reacts badly and
humiliates Violetta publicly. Shocked at
his son’s behaviour Giorgio eventually acquaints him with Violetta’s
predicament, but too late, and the lovers are united at Violetta’s deathbed.
Sarah Giles’ production for Opera Queensland
explores the decadent society of the courtesans without placing the production
in a specific period. Charles Davis has taken advantage of this to provide
lavish costumes which hint at the fashions of Charles James, Dior, Vivienne
Westwood and Valentino.
 |
| Setting designed by Charles Davis |
His setting for the opening scene depicts three rooms in Violetta’s house. This allows the audience to view action in each of the rooms at the same time, so that during the overture the audience is privy to a post-coital scene in Violetta’s bedroom in which Violetta awakens with her lover still asleep beside her, while her guests are already assembling in the outer rooms.
Before departing the lover presents her
with the first of several stunning gowns she wears during the opera. Then in
full view of the audience, a maid assists Violetta into the gown before she
enters the adjoining ballroom to greet her arriving guests.
It is the first of several captivating stagings
devised by Sara Giles which allow the audience insight into the practicalities
of Violetta’s life. Later leading to the famous “Sempre Libera” which begins
with Violetta lying on her bed after all the guests have departed, her maid
helps her out of the gown, frees her from the restricting undergarments to move
into the now-empty ballroom, with her mood and actions perfectly reflecting the
“always free” sentiments of the aria.
 |
| Lorina Gore and Kang Wang |
Lorina Gore is quite marvellous as Violetta. Always an artistic singer and an instinctive actress of considerable range, she embraces the complexities of Giles’ sometimes risky staging with apparent relish. She wears her voluminous gowns with the flair and panache of a catwalk model and is heartbreaking in the scenes in which she agrees to Giorgio’s demands, and while enduring Alfredo’s humiliations.
Making his Opera Queensland role debut as Alfredo, Australian-Chinese tenor Kang Wang cements his growing reputation as an outstanding young tenor on the rise. Perfectly cast, his Alfredo is handsome, impetuous, and completely believable as the reason why the more experienced Violetta would sacrifice all for him.
Completing the trio of outstanding
principals, Jose Carbo as Giorgio Germont brings his fine voice and dignified
presence to a role which demands exactly these qualities to provide the
necessary gravitas to the situation.
Impressive also in smaller roles, Hayley
Sugars as Flora Bervoix, Sebastian Maclaine as Gastone de Letorieres, Shaun
Brown as Baron Douphol and Jason Barry-Smith as Marquis d’Obigny, all offered
fine supporting performances, as did Conal Coad as Doctor Grenvil and Susan
Ellis as Annina.
They all received outstanding support
from the Opera Queensland Chorus which sang with accuracy and commitment while peppering
the crowd scenes with amusing vignettes, and from the Queensland Symphony
Orchestra, under the masterful baton of Dane Lam who insured a superb rendition
of Verdi’s sublime score from the entire ensemble.
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| Susan Ellis, Lorina Gore and Kang Wang |
For this reviewer the only misstep on an otherwise memorable production was the directorial decision to replace Violetta with another actor in the closing moments of the opera to allow Violetta (or her soul?) to arise from her deathbed and walk upstage into the dawn, thereby robbing the ending of its pathos by taking the focus away from the grieving group.
Photos by David Kelly.
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. artsreview@bigpond.com.au
