A solid La Traviata

Story’s still ludicrous but Opera Lyra delivers grand production, fine acting

Opera in concert can take several forms, ranging from deadpan, oratorio-like presentations to those that are acted, have entrances and exits and sometimes even costumes. It’s no surprise at all that Opera Lyra’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata is grand to the extent that it employs the National Arts Centre Orchestra, playing on stage behind the soloists. And behind the orchestra is the very decent Opera Lyra Ottawa Chorus.

The dramaturgy was a bit static, but there was enough good acting that one could get involved in the story (ludicrous though it is). The movements were limited, but adequate for the most part.

The principals were solid and then some. Corinne Winters portrayed Violetta, the courtesan who finds love and goodness within herself. Her voice is lovely and powerful and she had the pyrotechnics of the big arias well in hand. Her duet with the elder Germont was especially affecting.

(Forgive me for mentioning it, but the gown she wore in Act III was pretty fancy for a penniless woman at death’s door.)

Alfredo is an impulsive and shallow fellow and Eric Margiore portrayed him accordingly. His singing was apt, particularly in Libiamo and Un di felice. He wasn’t entirely convincing in Act III.

The third major character is Alfredo’s father, Germont, the opera’s evil genius. He destroys Violetta’s happiness in the name of family honour. Verdi’s music does its best to give him a dimension of nobility, but for me it doesn’t work. Gregory Dahl sang the role to chilling perfection.

The lesser roles were generally well portrayed, with special nods to Marion Newman’s Flora and Brian Wehrle’s Grenvil.

The orchestra, as you would expect, played well. The string sound in the preludes was beautiful. The chorus was also excellent except for a tiny bit of roughness in the third scene. Conductor Tyrone Paterson held it all together in good style.

This OLO season has consisted of an unremarkable La Bohème and a surprisingly good Traviata, opera’s two great weepies. The soprano dies of consumption in both cases. The Opera Lyra folks might have thought of something different. Don’t worry though, next year’s main productions, each a wonderful opera and fully staged, will be about a Gypsy vixen who gets murdered (Carmen) and a Japanese teenager who kills herself (Madama Butterfly).