San Francisco Classical Voice

OPERA REVIEW A Traviata Needing Revitalization

June 1, 2001

Patricia Racette (Violetta)

Patricia Racette (Violetta),
Stephen Mark Brown (Alfredo)

By Marvin Tartak

The San Francisco Opera began its Summer season dedicated to Verdi with a pleasant performance on Friday of La Traviata, nothing outrageous, nothing exceptional. The singers were okay, the conducting just fine, the sets traditional, the staging adequate to the purpose, though perhaps a bit stodgy. Nobody ventured into controversy, not even into dramatic realism.

Presented in four acts — Verdi's original expanded with three intermissions — this made for a rather long evening. An extended version is not new, however. It goes back to the first performance in Paris, 1854. The original version presents Act II in two scenes, here divided into separate acts, which makes perfect dramatic sense. Violetta has to return to Paris from her country idyll, and the interval gives us the time to understand the distance. Very little was cut, except for the baritone cabaletta at the end of Act II, and there is evidence in the score that Verdi approved of the omission.

Thankfully, some of the singing on Friday went beyond competent, particularly that of Patricia Racette, the Violetta, and of Christopher Robertson, the elder Germont. In their magnificent duet in Act II, the singers became actors, their parts growing strong with emotional depth. The first act was not as well done, as Racette, with all the finesse and skill of her coloratura singing, was indifferent to the drama. Here John Copley's staging let her down — it seemed as if he didn't care enough to inspire the action.

An Uninvolved Alfredo

The tenor in the role of Alfredo, Stephen Mark Brown in his S.F. Opera debut, looked good on stage, but his singing was by-the-numbers. It is not the greatest role ever written for tenors, and Brown did not go beyond the obvious. I might wish for a more involved Alfredo, but his emotion seemed pallid, monochromatic. Only briefly was he inspired to reach out for dramatic effect, in his cabaletta at the end of his Act II aria.

In Act III, which takes place in Flora's gambling salon, Verdi included a bit of dancing for the party scene. There were two episodes: a corps of Gypsies (very uninteresting in this performance) and a matador with two ladies. The dancer, Aldo Ruiz, was terrific. He had style and flair and the stage came alive in his presence. The dramatic ensemble that ends the act (Alfredo flinging money at his former mistress to disgrace her, then sinking into horrendous guilt) was also quite good.

The final act is dramatically the best of the four. The lighting, by Thomas Munn, was superlative, evocative of the sick room, of despair and hopelessness. Grey shadows dominated the scene. Racette gave her all to her solo aria, "Addio del passato," and with this believable performance enters the ranks of great Verdian sopranos. Would that the ensuing duet with her lover had been as powerful. It lost the dramatic buildup of the first part of the act and became perfunctory.

Bravo to the Conductor

Whatever was admirable in this production is due chiefly to the conductor, Marco Armiliato. He seemed to understand the passion in the opera and often led the orchestra in persuasive accompaniment to the actions on stage.

Beyond the wonderful singing, the opera was mired in a tired production. Perhaps the stilted, conventional staging owes some of its disappointing effect to the fact that this production has been around for 15 years and has been presented here four times. It needs to be revitalized, not taken for granted.

What many people consider Verdi's greatest opera deserves more attention than this fusty version gave it. Even Verdi knew of its wonders and attractions: When asked what his favorite opera was, he replied: "Speaking as a professional, Rigoletto; speaking as an amateur, La Traviata." It will never disappear from the repertory, it just needs some new thinking to make it as powerful as it was meant to be.

(Marvin Tartak, a pianist noted for contemporary music, teaches a course in Opera at City College of San Francisco. He has written program notes for the San Francisco Symphony and Opera, has also has edited two volumes of Rossini for the Fondazione Rossini, and is soon to embark on a third.)