From first gasp to last,
Met's 'Traviata' shines
NY Daily News
1 October, 2003
By Howard Kissel
Opera has few greater
oddities than Violetta, a tubercular courtesan who sings coloratura. What must
that do to weak lungs?
The heroine of Verdi's "La Traviata" is one of the hardest roles to
bring off. The easy way - and it is by no means so easy - is to turn it into a
pyrotechnic display.
To open the
Metropolitan Opera season Monday night, Renee Fleming took the harder path -
tackling the character of a woman who, after a life of pleasure-seeking and
opportunism, sacrifices herself for the sake of her lover's family.
You could hear
Fleming's approach clearly when she sang "Ah, fors'e lui"
("Perhaps it's he"), referring to Alfredo, who has captured her
heart. She sang the phrase as if gasping - a far more daring choice than the
standard tentative, delicate one.
Earlier in the
first act, her voice seemed unfocused, but she was otherwise in great form,
particularly in he second-act duet with Alfredo's father, gorgeously sung by
Dmitri Hvorostovsky. She was extremely moving in the last act - even when
Franco Zeffirelli's staging has her leave her sickbed and drag herself
downstairs, mainly for a scenic effect.
Ramon Vargas was
a solid Alfredo, though his acting lacks the force of either Fleming's or
Hvorostovsky's.
Conductor Valery
Gergiev gave the score a graceful reading. The season is off to an auspicious
start.
October 2003
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