© Sergi Panizo / Gran Teatre del Liceu
Legend has it (and se non è vero è ben trovato) that there is not a single day of the year when La Traviata is not performed somewhere or other on the planet. It may be an exaggeration, but it is true that this masterpiece is also extremely popular.
This makes it especially dangerous for several reasons: on one hand, all the great sopranos have tackled the role and the history of excellent performances of this title is endless, La Traviata has its own collection of myths. Moreover, some of these myths have a ghostly character because they do not refer to live performances but to recordings on disc against which it is difficult to compete from a live stage where nothing can be amended. As if that were not enough, La Traviata is that opera which even rather inexperienced amateurs are convinced they know - or think they know - how to sing. Everyone knows that Violetta must crown ‘Sempre libera’ with a risky D flat 5 and that Alfredo, although the score indicates C3, must aim to end his cabaletta with an impressive C4 for the audience. Add to this the fact that the opera fan is an essentially nostalgic being who is always longing for supposedly unbeatable performances of the past, and one can understand that, tempting though it is, tackling a Traviata carries special risks.
The American soprano Nadine Sierra sang Traviata at the Liceu and triumphed over myths, ghosts and nostalgia, offering an anthological Violetta Valéry so extraordinary that she will go down in the history of the theatre. It had been years since the Liceu had seen such a triumph. Sierra is undoubtedly, at that moment, the best Violetta to circulate in the great opera houses.
In addition to an impressive stage presence, the vocal resources on display are overwhelming. Sierra has it all, she has power, projection, beautiful sound, easy treble, prodigious pianissimi, a spectacular mesa di voce, vocal security and stage poise.
The only, very slight, reproach that could be made is stylistic. Sierra stretched several fermate beyond prudence and good taste; it is true that if she had done this in a Wagner or a Strauss piece it would have been considered a serious fault, but the interpretative tradition of Italian romantic opera not only accepts without fuss these small, frivolous exhibitionisms but even encourages them. They turn the singing into a kind of vocal athletics test, destined to inflame the audience to the point going mad with pleasure.
La traviata, Gran Teatre del Liceu (2025) (c) Sergi Panizo
Partnering Sierra was Javier Camarena in the role of Alfredo. The Mexican tenor was indisposed and unable to take part in the dress rehearsal and perhaps for this reason some of the central sounds in the first act did not sound clean enough, though not the trebles which were impeccable. And perhaps also for this reason he made an entrance error in the duet ‘Parigi, o cara’ in the last act which between them they managed to fix without casualties. Camarena's performance was very good, but on opening night there was only room for one absolute winner, and this time it was not him.
Artur Ruciński was also very good in the role of Giorgio Germont who deservedly got all the success a baritone can get in La Traviata. The choir was very good and all the supporting roles very correct.
Giacomo Sagripanti, who had already worked on this title with Sierra in Paris a year ago, conducted with skill and wisdom. He opted for rather slow tempi, to which the singers adapted perfectly, the orchestral sound had a delightful flow, everything sounded clear, crisp and balanced. Although he could be accused of too much tolerance for the excesses of the fermate, his performance as a whole was of a very high standard.
La Traviata was presented in the production signed by David McVicar, restaged by Leo Castaldi, which premiered at the Scottish Opera in Glasgow in 2008, and which has circulated successfully in many theatres and had already been seen at Liceu. A conventional, traditional production, well resolved visually, attentive to many small details that enrich the dramaturgy of the work, with a tendency to abound in the sordidness of the context of prostitution in which the action takes place, and with good direction of the actors in both the main and supporting roles.
Xavier Pujol
Barcelona, 17th January 2025
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. Nadine Sierra, soprano. Gemma Coma-Alabert, mezzosoprano. Javier Camarena, tenor. Artur Ruciński, baritone. Orchestra of Gran Teatre del Liceu. Choir of Gran Teatre del Liceu. Giacomo Sagripanti, conductor. David McVicar, stage director. Leo Castaldi, re-staging. Tanya McCallin, scenography and costumes. Andrew George, choreography. Jennifer Tipton, lighting. Production by Gran Teatre del Liceu, Scottish Opera (Glasgow), Welsh National Opera (Cardiff), Teatro Real (Madrid).
the 20 of January, 2025 | Print
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