Los Angeles Opera launched its season Saturday night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with a performance of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” a little ditty you may have heard before in which the soprano takes an entire act to die, singing all the while, which is always good for box office.
Novelty came in the form of the production, which placed the action in the 1920s instead of the 1850s, as well as in the form of a famous singer who was taking on the role of Germont for the first time in the house. It was, perhaps, not a whole lot of novelty, but it would have to do.
Marta Domingo (Plácido is her husband) is credited with the production, which updates the opera to the art deco era for no more reason that I can find than to give it a fresh look. The production was first seen here in 2006; this is its first revival by the company. Not a whole lot of harm is done, but some is.
The aristocratic milieu of the original – with its ideas of honor, duty, patronage and sex – doesn’t jibe that well with the Roaring ’20s settings, with flappers and jazz bands and décors right out of a painting by Maxfield Parrish. The love story transfers, but the motivations of the characters don’t. Were there still courtesans in the 1920s? Did men still fight duels? Was tuberculosis still the best way to end an opera?
In short, this became a “Traviata” that was pretty to look at but not particularly apt dramatically.
Plácido Domingo, 73, sang the baritone role of Germont. He recently re-upped as general director of the company (through the 2018-19 season) and had some health concerns over the summer (which forced him to cancel some performances), but sounded none the worse for it. He sang easily and forcefully and elegantly.
That the former tenor’s baritone is not really a Verdi baritone, lacking a certain depth and resonance, is something few will notice. There were subtle effects on the fatherly part, though, which to these ears and eyes seemed a little less authoritative and stuffy, more vulnerable and weepy. That’s by no means all for the worse, but Verdi’s transformation of the character from unfeeling party pooper to good guy was less evident.
Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze, last seen here a few months ago in the title role of “Thaïs,” gave a virtuoso performance as Violetta. That is, there was a bit of showing off in her performance, gadding about the coloratura curlicues with glittering grace, applying her rich tone in dozens of shades, singing super-pianissimo, pulling phrases this way and that.
She did what she did well and impressively. At the same time, she chopped off her phrases in doing so (I don’t think I heard a long line all night) and drew more attention to the singing than to the character’s inner travails.
Mexican tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz was her appropriately impetuous Alfredo, neatly tailoring his phrasing to vault forward. The smaller roles were handled capably, and the L.A. Opera Chorus rang true.
The company is opening with just the single opera (in multiple performances) this year. Whether that was the reason that the orchestra sounded particularly well honed, it did. Conductor James Conlon elicited precision, momentum, color and nuance. His pace was generally swift, which made pulling back the tempo all the more effective.
A seventh performance has been added to the run (due to demand, presumably) and Wednesday’s will be broadcast live at the beach, on the big screen at the Santa Monica Pier. That broadcast is sponsored by L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who was on hand to conduct “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Saturday (no one was hurt), to serve as an extra in crowd scenes (ditto) and to receive a memento of thanks from the company at the end. A politician who supports the arts – there’s your novelty.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6811 or tmangan@ocregister.com
