Review by Sam Waite
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Many avid theatregoers are hesitant to step into the world of opera, put off by their expectations of the genre. It’s too long, they won’t be able to follow the plot, it’s for the fancy folk, not for the likes of us! I know these thoughts to be true, as an admitted opera neophyte myself, only dipping my toe in the shallower waters of a few bouncy Gilbert and Sullivan comedies. Still, in spite of my doubts and many – many – insecurities, I found myself at London’s Royal Opera House, at the opening performance of this new run of Verdi’s La traviata, tasked with examining the production through eyes (and ears) not well-acquainted with the world of opera.
La traviata (literally, The Fallen Woman) is adapted from Alexandre Dumas fil’s The Lady of The Camellias, a novel serving as the basis for seemingly countless works, under both this original title and the more Americanised Camille. The three acts tell the tragic love story of Violetta, a courtesan, and young bourgeois Alfredo – celebrating her recovery from illness with a grand party, Violetta is shocked to learn how deep Alfredo’s concerns for her ran. Finally choosing to abandon her life of freedom and decadence, she soon meets with her love’s father, and learns that the future marriage of his sister and reputation of their family are at risk due to her scandalous reputation. Despite her devotion to Alfredo, she must break both of their hearts to maintain his family’s honour.
Surtitles do offer a translation of Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto, should you happen – like me, and I suspect many others in attendance – not to be fluent in Italian. Helpful though they are in establishing settings and dynamics, the music and performances more often than not convey emotions clearly, so that once you know the subject being discussed its often easy to keep your eyes primarily on the stage and presume the course of a discussion or argument yourself. Meanwhile, the dreaded three act structure proves not to be laboriously long and in fact without the two intervals allowing for changes to the elaborate set and costumes, the show is no longer than most major West End musicals.
As Violetta – a role she alternates with Hrachuhí Bassénz – Kazan-born soprano Aida Garifullina provides crystal-clear vocals and a rich expressiveness to the role. Violetta goes through the most drastic musical changes in Verdi’s score, and Garifullina navigates with ease the journey from bright, flirtatious salon-thrower to hardened, wiser womanhood through her mannerisms and vocal adjustments. She also shares a sparkling, easy chemistry with Francesco Demuro’s Alfredo (a role shared with Ismael Jordi), making it easy to believe how long-in-love he is and how passionately she comes to return his affections. So convincing is their devotion to one another, and the impact of severing this bond, that the eventual animosity at an act two party (an undeniable influence on Moulin Rouge’s “I have paid my whore” scene) is utterly devastating, and absolutely captivating.
Alongside a cast of remarkable, truly gifted vocalists, around twenty dancers also make impressive appearances. Chiefly seen during a party in the latter half of the second act, their performances as travellers (a less favourable word is used, this being a centuries old text!) and as matadors delights the guests both onstage and off. With guidance from Jane Gibson, the production’s movement director, they captivate the audience – this allows for the leading players to prepare for their entrances and emotionally demanding scenes, without the audience becoming too acutely aware of their absence. These dance routines also help in establishing just how raucous and how populated these gatherings are, representing a production-wide focus on keeping the story grounded in the reality of the well-to-do, incredibly important for Alfredo’s gathering of the guests to see his devastation of Violetta.
Conducted at the opening performance by Alexander Joel, the sizable and world-renowned Orchestra of The Royal Opera House play as magnificently as one might expect. Almost entirely sung-through (okay, some of what you might assume about opera is true with La Traviata), the performance benefits greatly from the skill of the musicians and their conductor. Verdi’s emotive, deeply compelling score seems entirely ageless, with the vocalists onstage and musicians beneath breathing life into what a newcomer could worry will be too elaborate to keep track of, or too old-fashioned for them to truly enjoy. Neither, thankfully, is the case here, and Verdi’s work proves to work both as a marvellous introduction to the genre, and a still-enjoyable classic for those more well-versed. A patron nearby couldn’t help but conduct along in his lap, so enthusiastic was his reception to the Orchestra’s playing of this well-loved score – any questioning of why La Traviata in particular continues to be so oft-produced are cast aside by the sheer enjoyability of its score.
Bob Crowley’s sets are as elaborate as I had expected from a Royal Opera production, filled with details to find should you spend the time to glance around them but lending themselves well to the comparative intimacy of the piece. In the second act, Violetta’s country home is seen only through the corner of what the cut-off walls suggest is a much larger room, but the presumable grandeur of the house is allowed to be secondary to the small dining area’s focus as the locale of important, intimate discussions. Likewise, the home of Violetta’s friend Flora has a suggested enormity to its backdrop, but the action is contained to a well-crafted, much smaller area of her extravagant home.
Crowley's costumes, too, are beautiful and richly detailed, reminding us always of just how decadent and wealthy a world we are gazing into, and continually impressing. Particularly striking is his costuming for Violetta, whose white opening dress looks almost bridal in its suggestion of her youth and vitality, in staggering contrast to the demure black ensemble worn at Flora’s party, when her mood and her world have unquestionably darkened.
That same sense of intimacy in spite of grand settings carries through all creative decisions. Lighting designer Jean Kalman focuses the lights firmly on characters when descending into their own thoughts and feelings, shrouding the remainder of the stage in a hazy half-darkness to suggest time has frozen and we have truly entered a soloist’s innermost thoughts. This, of course, creates a sense of separation, and of smallness, even on the grand sets that had held roaring parties and crowds of well-wishers just moments before. On the topic of these partygoers, director Richard Eyre ingeniously keeps their faces and bodies pointed towards the leading figures of the piece, their presence serving more to make rooms feel isolating and entrapped than to fill out their enormity and provide a sense of scale. Turning these overfilled parties into walls of watchful attendees brings an anxiety to the party scenes, further enhancing the calmer, more easy-going energy Eyre pours into the brief period of happiness in the country home.
Entering the Royal Opera House as a first-time attendee, I had many of the same concerns that plague newcomers and keep potential fans away from the opera – I won’t understand, I won’t feel welcome, I’ll feel stupid and less-than. I’m pleased to say that none of this proved to be true, not only did I understand, but I felt no more overwhelmed or less-than than at any other theatre (imposter syndrome is my own problem, not the opera’s!) and found myself not only following La traviata, but being enraptured by its seamless blend of grandeur and intimacy. The grandness and spectacle of the space quickly gave way to how welcoming the environment proved to be, and how familiar to those of us who've spent a good amount of time in the West End. If you, like me, want to give opera a serious chance, even just to check it off your ever-growing list of “oh I’d love to do that”, this production of La traviata is not only an accessible place to start, but may begin a new love affair with another facet of the arts.
La traviata plays at The Royal Opera House until September 21st
For tickets and information visit https://www.rbo.org.uk/tickets-and-events/la-traviata-details
Photos by Camilla Greenwell
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