La Traviata
Jun. 14th, 2009 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theatokosThis opera seems to be on everyone's list of favorites and now I know why! I was very familiar with the music from Act One, but the entire opera is filled with beautiful music and wonderfully lyric arias. While the songs are rich, the entire opera is character driven and the accompaniment never overwhelms the singing, nor do the ensemble pieces ever intrude on the characters. I love the ensemble music, but I almost feel as though Verdi included them because he felt he had to.
This particular production was pretty but also annoying. In the first act all the women are dressed in white (representing innocence perhaps?). The dresses were gorgeous but all blended in together. Even from the back of the hall I could hear the beads on the dresses moving about. The same thing occurred in the second act, when all the women are dressed in black. I wish there was variation so I could appreciate the exquisite costumes. The second act had one awkward and long scene change. I disliked the black and purple and stupid spider web theme. It was ugly and heavy handed. Plus, the dancing was weird. Don't try to do the charleston to symphonic music.
The singing was superb. Anna Netrebko was excellent. In the standing room line a lady said that Ms. Netrebko had gotten fat. Actually, she had a baby 9 months ago! I thought she looked gorgeous (as usual), but yes, she did have the tell-tale stomach pooch. I recognize it and felt more than a little vindicated that I am not the only one who still has The Pooch. Figure aside, her voice was huge, her acting excellent, and she was a delight to hear in this role. The adorable man next to me (78 years old! Telling me stories of seeing the opera in 1942!) kept gushing about her during applause. I liked her very much, but at one point I felt like leaning over to him and saying "Yes, but she's no Ruth Ann Swenson."
The lead gentlemen, Charles Castronovo and Dwayne Croft, were also excellent. Castronovo was muted in comparison to Netrebko, but his voice was creamy and sounded easy and grounded. Croft's voice was excellent, despite the announcement at the beginning that he was recovering from a sinus infection and he asked for our patience. My immediate reactions upon hearing him sing was "Yeah right!" and that he had broken the only rule of Feast Bay - no excuses!
This particular production was pretty but also annoying. In the first act all the women are dressed in white (representing innocence perhaps?). The dresses were gorgeous but all blended in together. Even from the back of the hall I could hear the beads on the dresses moving about. The same thing occurred in the second act, when all the women are dressed in black. I wish there was variation so I could appreciate the exquisite costumes. The second act had one awkward and long scene change. I disliked the black and purple and stupid spider web theme. It was ugly and heavy handed. Plus, the dancing was weird. Don't try to do the charleston to symphonic music.
The singing was superb. Anna Netrebko was excellent. In the standing room line a lady said that Ms. Netrebko had gotten fat. Actually, she had a baby 9 months ago! I thought she looked gorgeous (as usual), but yes, she did have the tell-tale stomach pooch. I recognize it and felt more than a little vindicated that I am not the only one who still has The Pooch. Figure aside, her voice was huge, her acting excellent, and she was a delight to hear in this role. The adorable man next to me (78 years old! Telling me stories of seeing the opera in 1942!) kept gushing about her during applause. I liked her very much, but at one point I felt like leaning over to him and saying "Yes, but she's no Ruth Ann Swenson."
The lead gentlemen, Charles Castronovo and Dwayne Croft, were also excellent. Castronovo was muted in comparison to Netrebko, but his voice was creamy and sounded easy and grounded. Croft's voice was excellent, despite the announcement at the beginning that he was recovering from a sinus infection and he asked for our patience. My immediate reactions upon hearing him sing was "Yeah right!" and that he had broken the only rule of Feast Bay - no excuses!