La Traviata - Wales Millennium Centre (From Hereford Times)
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La Traviata - Wales Millennium Centre
2:24pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in Leisure By Philippa May
Joyce El-Khouri sings Violetta in WNO's La Traviata
EVEN before the curtain goes up on WNO’s revival of David McVicar’s production of La Traviata, there is no ambiguity about where it’s going, opening as it does with a dark, stark stage, draped in black, and in the background the signs of a life consigned to dust sheets and a shroud.
Director David McVicar and designer Tanya McCallin play it straight all the way, with no concessions to modernity, no irony, and opting for a visually striking monochrome set, punctuated by vivid flashes of colour in Act 1 that have become more muted tones as Violetta finds love but fights a losing battle against death.
Champagne and candlelight conjure a world of hedonistic pleasure as the consumptive Violetta celebrates her apparent recovery only to be felled anew - this time by love - as Alfredo Germont destroys all her defences.
With La Traviata almost falling at the first fence in 1853, when Verdi himself declared it a ‘fiasco’, largely due to an inappropriately cast Violetta, it’s vital to have a convincing heroine and Canadian soprano, Joyce El-Khoury, in her European début, delivers. Although there were moments when her voice lacked a measure of warmth, she made stunning work of her encounter with Germont, forcing the suspension of disbelief and bringing a tear to the eye. On the opening night at Wales Millennium Centre, Alfredo was sung by Italian-American tenor Leonardo Capalbo, a last-minute replacement for an indisposed Carlos Osuna,who quickly settled into a moving, beautifully acted and beautifully sung performance. A slight coolness in El-Khoury’s performance did, though, mean that occasionally the relationship between Violetta and Alfredo seemed just a little unbalanced.
La Traviata is at Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday, February 18, Wednesday, February 9 and Friday, March 2. To book, go to wmc.org.uk or call the box office on 029 2063 6464 The production can also be seen at Birmingham Hippodrome on Tuesday, March 6 and Friday, March 9. To book, call 0844 338 5000 or go to birminghamhippodrome.co.uk
