La Traviata, Royal Opera House

La Traviata was the very first opera I ever saw, at the ENO, with my mum, and quite honestly I think it ignited my passion for music. Verdi’s masterpiece is the perfect opera, a heartbreaking but believable story, with nuanced characters, and music to make you cry, laugh and dance. I adore it and would never pass up the chance to see a production of it, especially at the Royal Opera House.

We had standing tickets in the lower slips (ie. right up at the very top) but for a mere £9, I felt I couldn’t complain. Instead I spent the 35 minute long first half desperately trying to spot where the empty seats were in the stalls (a trick I’ve used before)... I found a few and rushed down in the interval to claim them. We remained in these considerably more expensive seats for the rest of the performance!

The tragic tale of a doomed love affair, La Traviata is based on La Dame aux Camelias (1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas fils. ‘La Traviata’ literally means ‘The Fallen Woman’ a term used to describe prostitutes of the time. Marina Poplavskaya’s voice as Violetta is perhaps not to everyone's taste; my mum isn't a massive fan, though I was grateful for the power and strength particularly as recently I've noticed rather too many weedy sopranos. Strangely this Russian singer performs best in the closing scenes when she is progressively more ill and exhausted, she seems to blossom in this wilted state, and sings the quieter subdued final arias with beautiful tone and impressive control.

The star of the show is clearly evident, Leo Nucci as the father of Alfredo, Giorgio Germont. Nucci received more outcries of ‘Bravo’ than I have ever heard in an opera house. He is a great connoisseur of opera, having made his debut in 1967 and sings with a wealth of experience. His voice is a stunningly rich Baritone, and he devotes himself entirely to the role, singing with emotion and grandeur.

This brilliant production by director Richard Eyre and designer Bob Crowley is fresh seventeen years after its first performance, this revival seems set to just keep on exciting audiences. The orchestra, conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig, brings suitable light and shade to Verdi’s magnificent score.

I’m not sure if I could ever find La Traviata disappointing, just hearing the music is enough to satisfy me. Though this production doesn’t just rely on the wondrous musicality of Verdi, it succeeds in producing an all round superb rendition with a cast of singers that thrill.

Continues until 25 January 2012, book here.

Simon Boccanegra at the ENO

I coincidentally bumped into a few friends while going to see 'Simon Boccanegra' at the ENO last week. During the interval my singer friend mentioned that although the production was enjoyable it was a shame that the setting and design was so modern. I thought back to the last few operas I had seen at the epic Colliseum and realised that most had had a contemporary set and vision. Despite these modernisations sometimes offering an intriguing alternative message, I realised just how much I missed the glorious costumes, magnificent stage sets and magical props of more conventional opera productions. Opera should transport you to another world - a euphoric experience totally removed from everyday life - and so watching a grey suited chorus sing Verdi on this night was a little disappointing, and reminded me too much of my day job in a smart real estate office. It is director Dmitri Tcherniakov who is to blame, a Russian creative who many had high hopes for after he stunned with his brilliant version of Eugene Onegin at Covent Garden last year.

The story of Simon Boccanegra is ridiculously complex, and after about 20 minutes I gave up trying to follow. The narrative is explained with frequent projections - words appear suspended on the black backdrop on stage. It is not dissimilar to a Harry Potter scene, and I thought it worked wonderfully well- at least it forces the audience to sit up and read, an immediate interaction with the performance.

I have never seen this Verdi masterpiece before, so was surprised by how quickly I connected with the music, a bold score that ENO Music Director Edward Gardner conducts with experience and elegance. Of the singers it was the men that really impressed me, baritone Bruno Caproni sung the title role with a warm rich tone, and Roland Wood was an imposing villain as Paolo Albiani. It did not come as a surprise when Brindley Sherratt amazed with his rendition as Fiesco. He gave an authoritive and confident performance that really stood out. The young and troubled Amelia was taken on by Rena Harms in her ENO debut. Harms looked the part with her striking long dark hair and innocent demeanour, but is underwhelming vocally, and weak in some arias.

I was pleased to see Simon Boccanegra for the first time, and found the orchestral music very powerful and moving. It is rare that I enjoy a score so much on the first listening. However as a production, Tcherniakov’s sloppy ideas didn’t translate well to stage which left me feeling rather dissatisfied.

Simon Boccanegra continues until 9 July, book here.

Rigoletto at The Royal Opera House

I looked forward to my Royal Opera House trip all week, especially as I was taking a ROH virgin along with me! We went to see the fifth revival of David Vicar’s production of Rigoletto, first staged in 2001.Rigoletto was written by the magnificent Verdi, an opera composer who many argue is superior to all those who worked in the genre before or after him. His intensely dramatic music is some of the world’s most celebrated and never fails to move me. La Traviata is my favourite opera by Verdi and also the first opera I ever saw, but this was my first time seeing Rigoletto.

There is nothing quite like sitting in London’s Royal Opera House, it is one of the great wonders of our city. I always feel thrilled to be part of such an excited sea of audience members, all sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the conductor’s first wave of his oh-so important baton.

All eyes were on Israeli-born conductor Dan Ettinger who seemed delighted to be making his debut at The ROH. And despite being young he seems in his element in the pit and was a wonderful leader for the orchestra.

Vicar’s production is, on the whole quite dark and moody, and takes place in the shadows of the giant set. As the curtain rises we are treated to a shockingly bawdy scene. Perhaps I am being prudish but I found it a little too distracting, especially when one poor chorus member strips completely and runs around stark naked, quite a sight at The Royal Opera House!

The set is cleverly built to be reversible, the palace on one side, and Rigoletto’s house/Sparafucile’s inn on the other; it can be moved accordingly. Effective on the whole, but unfortunately it took rather a long time to move leaving an awkward silence in between Acts. The singing is the highlight for me, and I left thinking it the most impressive display of vocal talent I have ever seen on this stage. Dmitri Hvorostovsky (who played the role in 2005) once again takes to the stage as the desperate joker Rigoletto. His dark baritone voice is rich and resonant - he sings the melancholic role with conviction and credible emotion throughout. Wookyung Kim returns to Covent Garden to sing the part of the precious Duke, his energy and commitment to the role is obvious, his light tenor is very enjoyable to listen to, though I couldn’t help being disappointed that he isn’t better looking, a quality the Duke requires. Patrizia Ciofi and Ekaterina Sadovnikova share the role of Gilda for this production. Sadovnikova was performing the night I went and sang her little heart out and seemed very comfortable acting with Hvorostovky on stage, together they have some touching father and daughter moments on stage. I was a little disappointed with Daniela Innamorati who plays Maddalena, her voice did not quite live up to the part on the night, and she suffered against the other singers in the final Act quartet.

At university I had a brilliant class called ‘Verdi and Shakespeare’, we touched briefly on Rigoletto although I realised, during the performance that I had forgotten many of the opera’s details. As the final Act began I suddenly remembered the horribly tragic conclusion, and couldn’t stop myself audibly gasping.

The ROH never fails to put on a show, with glorious sets and stunning costumes and great attention to detail, this production of Rigoletto is no different.

Rigoletto continues until 6 November 2010, book tickets here.