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Mar. 23rd, 2004 09:45 ami went to see la traviata last night as planned, and it was a very beautiful evening. teatro lirico is a bulgarian company for the most part, which i think accounted for a few bizarre pronunciations of the italian phrasing? la traviata is a soprano-dying-of-tuberculosis story; the soprano and tenor want to make love, but the baritone intervenes, which george bernard shaw says is the storyline of almost every opera.
the soprano, violetta, had the clearest voice, such full and perfect tones. sometimes hearing high notes hit perfectly is so incredible; it breaks my expectations of what a voice is capable of, and astounds me. alfredo (tenor) had a nice voice, but not as expressive as i would have liked. it's a love story alfredo, look at her like you love her! well, but i suppose we are there for the voices, not necessarily the acting.
ah, but i cried through the entire first act, and parts of the rest of it, too. act one i know nearly by heart, and even at the overture i was so moved. the emerson majestic theatre is smaller than i would have thought, very ornate with gold everywhere and sumptuous red curtains. i was in the last row of the orchestra, but that was not very far away at all, and so everything felt very close and alive.
small points of contention: a lead violin (one of two) that was a quarter-tone off the entire time. crooked hemlines in some of the dresses, and overly visible hoops beneath the skirts. flora was lost in her dress, too much fluffy purple stuff at the neckline, and she seemed too skinny and pinched and lackluster to be playing a bubbly hostess cortesan----but it was the costume's fault, really. and in the last act, when annina is supposed to open the room to let in the 7am light, it was still dark in the background, no light spilled in.
but these are small points in an otherwise overwhelmingly beautiful production. the music is just stunning; especially so when you try to imagine that verdi wrote it on commission and in less than seven weeks. the orchestration was not even begun until shortly before it opened in venice at the teatro fenice! amazing. kirk found me in the lobby afterward, and we walked back along the common to park street in a chilly wind. i was exhausted when we got home, but so happy.
the soprano, violetta, had the clearest voice, such full and perfect tones. sometimes hearing high notes hit perfectly is so incredible; it breaks my expectations of what a voice is capable of, and astounds me. alfredo (tenor) had a nice voice, but not as expressive as i would have liked. it's a love story alfredo, look at her like you love her! well, but i suppose we are there for the voices, not necessarily the acting.
ah, but i cried through the entire first act, and parts of the rest of it, too. act one i know nearly by heart, and even at the overture i was so moved. the emerson majestic theatre is smaller than i would have thought, very ornate with gold everywhere and sumptuous red curtains. i was in the last row of the orchestra, but that was not very far away at all, and so everything felt very close and alive.
small points of contention: a lead violin (one of two) that was a quarter-tone off the entire time. crooked hemlines in some of the dresses, and overly visible hoops beneath the skirts. flora was lost in her dress, too much fluffy purple stuff at the neckline, and she seemed too skinny and pinched and lackluster to be playing a bubbly hostess cortesan----but it was the costume's fault, really. and in the last act, when annina is supposed to open the room to let in the 7am light, it was still dark in the background, no light spilled in.
but these are small points in an otherwise overwhelmingly beautiful production. the music is just stunning; especially so when you try to imagine that verdi wrote it on commission and in less than seven weeks. the orchestration was not even begun until shortly before it opened in venice at the teatro fenice! amazing. kirk found me in the lobby afterward, and we walked back along the common to park street in a chilly wind. i was exhausted when we got home, but so happy.
