Strong cast, direction carry 'Traviata'
Party scenes abound in "La Traviata," the popular opera by Giuseppe Verdi that opened the 66th season of Pittsburgh Opera on Saturday night. And the festival mood at the Benedum Center continued after the performance at Pittsburgh Opera's own party, the Golden Horseshoe Gala.
But "La Traviata" is a tragedy that challenges its viewers in many ways that are brilliantly characterized by conductor John Mauceri's essay in the program book. At the party that occupies Act I of the opera, we meet Violetta Valery, a young woman who is more selective than a prostitute but lives very well, thank you, on the substantial gifts of her wealthy lovers. She encounters true love in the person of Alfredo Germont.
The crux of the drama follows in the first part of the next act, after she and Alfredo have moved to the country to enjoy life together. There she yields to the arguments of Alfredo's father, who visits to explain that a marriage with his son would ruin the family because her past is unacceptable to respectable society.
Her willingness to sacrifice what is a new kind of love for her surprises the father and challenges the audience to see a person's quality regardless of social standing -- a point emphasized by his recognition that he was wrong about her. The rest of the opera -- especially Alfredo's denunciation of Violetta for leaving him at another party and her death after reconciling with Alfredo in the final act -- presents her fate in the most poignant settings.
Saturday night's performance featured an excellent cast and good staging, but most of "La Traviata" was paced so slowly it seemed the opera would die before the soprano.
French soprano Annick Massis was impressive in her role debut singing Violetta, a big step from the mainly "bel canto" earlier 19th-century roles and even earlier music she has most often performed up to now. Massis has a beautifully smooth voice throughout her entire range, with an especially fine lower register for a singer who has specialized in high-flying vocal agility.
Tenor Eric Cutler brought a fine big voice to Alfredo's music, and an ardent manner as well. Baritone James Westman's performance was if anything more impressive both vocally and dramatically.
The production, designed by Frank Galati, was traditional and featured excellent sets and lighting. Pittsburgh Opera has added a scrim over the rear half of the orchestra pit that reduces the light coming up from the music stands, giving the lighting director more control and thus range of gesture.
Thor Steingraber animated Galati's sets with excellent stage direction, using close and more distant space between characters effectively. The singers were actors under his direction, their movements purposeful and dramatically apt.
Mauceri's tempi were very slow in the first two acts, to such an extreme degree that many basic music qualities were lost. In addition, the conductor was prone to slowing down even further, preventing any musical momentum from building and nearly turning the opera into a play with music. No less odd was the rapid pacing in the finale.
The conductor's essay mentioned that the performance would present the score with traditional cuts restored and with what he believes are Verdi's intended tempi. Musicological research in so non-academic a context as the theater should yield to dramatic realities.
There were impressive musical moments, especially when Massis and the violins were elegantly together. But nearly all of the musical performance felt restrained, including singers such as Cutler sounding as though they were holding back.
Additional Information:
La Traviata
Written by: Giuseppe Verdi
Featuring: Annick Massis, Eric Cutler, James Westman and others; John Mauceri, conductor
Presented by: Pittsburgh Opera
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Benedum Center, Seventh Street at Penn Avenue, Downtown
Tickets: $16 to $125
Details: (412) 456-6666 or www.pittsburghopera.org
