The final opera I saw while on Spring Break, was Verdi’s classic La Traviata. This was my third time seeing the opera, but my favorite soprano to take on the role. My first time seeing Traviata was in Paris back in 2018, with Aleksandra Kurzak as Violetta, Jean-François Borras as Alfredo, and George Gagnidze as Giorgio. I liked that performance, but I didn’t love it. My second time seeing Traviata was recent, as SF Opera performed Traviata in Fall 2022 with an excellent Pretty Yende as Violetta, a great Jonathan Tetelman as Alfredo, and a meh Simone Piazzola as Giorgio. In this performance it was Angel Blue as Violetta, Dmytro Popov as Alfredo, and Artur Ruciński as Giorgio.
Like anyone with ears, I'm a big fan of Verdi, and La Traviata is an instant classic. The music is great, and it's basically a hit parade. The plot is less ridiculous than most operas, and the leading role of Violetta is one of opera's more complete heroines with great depth to her character. I'm at the point where I'm not seeing Traviata to discover the music, but more so to see the singers. Any Traviata production lives and dies by its Violetta, and Blue was an incredibly strong anchor to the production.
The Staging
The staging of the opera was bland, but beautiful. There are scene changes, but no set changes, with Violetta’s bed being present in every scene, and the card playing being done on the piano. It was awkward to see, especially considering that the Met has an extremely cool, scene elevator that was used in Norma for a really cool effect. Visually, the set was beautiful with gilded golden accents running up the walls. This was not a modern staging, but one more historically accurate.
The Singing
There are times when you see a show and from the beginning you can feel that a singer is "on" and ready to deliver. The first singer to make me feel this was Lisette Oropesa in Les Huguenots, and the second time was when watching Angel Blue as Violetta. As Violetta, she easily stole the show. I imagine Violetta is a dream role for any soprano, as it gives them the ability to show their coloratura skills in act 1, and their expressive, dramatic skills in acts 2 and 3. Given the right soprano, Violetta’s great music, combined with her naturally sympathetic character, is a fantastic vehicle, and Angel Blue's take used the role’s opportunities to her advantage. Her voice is a good size, larger than I expected, with an appealing smokiness in the middle, and a luminous and noticeably easy top. Some sopranos merely get through the act 1 coloratura, and some use it for fantastic dramatic effect. Angel Blue is amongst the latter group, as an artist able to use the fiendish coloratura to show Violetta’s also fiendish emotions. Perhaps the coloratura wasn't the cleanest ever, but it was fearless and exhilarating. No high E, at the end of “Sempre libera” but that wasn’t a problem for me. In act 2, her beautiful, lyric soprano was devastating, culminating in the most beautiful and believable “Amami, Alfredo” I’ve ever seen. She and Artur Ruciński in particular paired well together, and their act 2 duet was a highlight of the night. In act 3, as she lay dying, Blue’s Violetta remained dignified and composed, not giving into the histrionics that other sopranos might give into in this act. Her Violetta is earthy, and real, with a sense of familiarity and relatability that is often hard to portray in opera's world of exaggerated emotions.
Blue’s Alfredo was Dymtro Popov. His voice is an essentially lyric voice with a big enough size, and a good handle on the role. Alfredo as a character isn’t that compelling, and his role, out of the main 3, is by far the least interesting. Popov was good in the role, but not great like Angel Blue or Artur Rucinski. If there’s one thing that Popov did have over Blue it was greater control of dynamics, with Popov having a great capacity to sing piano, while Blue’s pianos didn’t feel as delicate. Compared to the more earthy portrayals of Blue and Rucinski, Popov’s Alfredo was more classically theatrical, creating an incongruence, especially in the first scene of act 2 when he’s alone with Blue. It wasn’t bad by any means, it was just more theatrical in an almost campy way. Popov's Alfredo is impetuous, almost juvenile, which contrasted well with the worldliness of Blue's Violetta. If his acting mannerisms weren't so exaggerated, the pairing would've been more potent.
Artur Ruciński’s assumption of Giorgio was a close 2nd to Angel Blue. When I saw Traviata in SF, the Giorgio was Simone Piazzola who did a fine job, but was boring, and unmemorable. Ruciński was nothing of the sort, having a scheming, manipulative, and haughty quality to his Giorgio that I found appropriate and effective. I didn’t feel the transformation of his character as much as I would have liked, but that’s partially to blame for the awkward stage direction keeping him and Blue apart. As I mentioned previously, his duets with Blue in act 2 were a highlight, with his take on the role being more in line with Blue’s. His Giorgio was more human, and less theatrical, and the chemistry and tension between the two felt much more natural and believable than Blue’s chemistry with Popov.
The Conducting
I enjoyed Nicola Luisotti's conducting, and I have no objections to it. He worked well with his singers, let the drama unfold at the right pace, and injected energy where it was needed while letting the quieter moments speak for themselves. The prelude was especially beautiful.
Stray Thoughts
There's an anecdote that someone said that Angel Blue was going to be the next Leontyne Price when she was born, and after seeing her performance I can see a future for Blue as a fantastic Verdi spinto. Comparisons to Leontyne Price are unfair, but I see what they mean.
Someone get Angel Blue a record deal, quick
Violetta is a role that Blue has done a lot, and I think she can retire it, not because she can't sing the role (see Sonya Yoncheva in Norma), but because she can sing so much more