MOUNT VERNON — An artful blend of romance and realism, beautiful melodies and vocal fireworks put “La Traviata” among the all-time favorite operas.
Skagit Opera brings this Verdi masterpiece to the stage as its fall production, which opened last weekend at McIntrye Hall with final performances tonight and Sunday.
Strong singing and acting? Check. Good work from the orchestra? Check. Handsome costumes and sets? Check.
The company, which understands what makes good opera and has the resources to deliver, has assembled the ingredients to give the opera the production it deserves.
“La Traviata” rolls gracefully off the tongue, but the literal translation is something like “the fallen woman.” And that woman is Violetta, a famed courtesan (mistress to the wealthy elite) in a Paris salon of the 19th century.
At a glittering party, Violetta meets and falls for ardent admirer Alfredo Germont. It’s love, and together they move to a quiet house in the country. Two things stand in the way of their happiness. One is Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s moralizing father who takes a low opinion of his son’s romance with a courtesan. It’s bad for the family name. The other is tuberculosis, the fatal disease that is Violetta’s fate.
Violetta is persuaded by the father to give up his son and she does, but Alfredo reasons that he has been dumped by Violetta and publically rebukes her. Giorgio Germont realizes he has done these lovers wrong and regrets his actions. Alfredo learns of Violetta’s sacrifice for the Germont family, and her enduring love for him, and he returns. Alas, it’s too late, and Violetta dies. But this is Verdi, and she does so while singing a ravishing melody.
The success of this opera rests mightily on the singing and acting of the lead soprano. Violetta has fame, but she is an outsider. She finds real love and rejoices, renounces it to protect society and suffers. The singing demands range from the fireworks of the bel canto coloratura — the effortless leaps and trills, the long seamless runs of bright high notes — to soft, lyric beauty, amply on display in the meltingly beautiful Act 11 duet between Violetta and her lover’s father.
Skagit Opera has its Violetta in Leslie Mauldin, an attractive young soprano with plenty of power throughout the range, as evidenced by last week’s performance. Her agile voice easily handles the rapid flood of notes in the coloratura passages, showing slight strain only in the very highest notes. It’s a big voice, but with warmth, and she softens it to a whisper as we follow Violetta from her happy beginning to tragic end.
Tenor Wesley Rogers is a worthy Alfredo Germont. His youthful good looks and presence is a perfect match for his Violetta. He’s a lyric tenor with secure range and projection. He sounded tentative in the opening passages of last Sunday’s performance, but his voice quickly blossomed and his singing just kept getting better.
A keystone role in this production is that of Giorgio Germont, sung here by the superb baritone Morgan Smith, who got his start at Seattle Opera and has sung major roles with the company.
His voice is deep, rich and smooth as cognac, and his singing elevated the entire production to a new standard, lifting the other singers to a higher performance level. He’s a big, strapping guy with lots of vigor, but as Giorgio Germont he’s tamped that down to affect the movements of a stiff old man. It’s a fully realized performance.
The supporting cast was uniformly fine, the chorus sounded strong and conductor Alastair Willis provided a sympathetic and steadying hand. Stage director Erich Parce moved the big cast with precision and I liked the way he staged the intimate scenes.
Steven Craig’s lighting design gives an extra glow to the handsome sets and costumes and, again, enough can’t be said for the projected English captions above the stage, which add so much to the enjoyment of the show.
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