The Perfect Lesson in Understanding                                  

To some, attending an opera can be intimidating not just because of its storyline which can often end in tragedy for at least one of the main protagonists but also by the opera’s format. Often sung in an unfamiliar language it can be helpful if you are already familiar with the story.

Operas, like Shakespearean plays, can take some effort to understand, but the result can be well worth it with one able to enjoy the art form as intended. That art form involves singers and musicians performing a dramatic piece of work that is made up of text called a libretto and a musical score.La traviata translated as the fallen woman is by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto and is based on a play La dame aux Camelias adapted from the novel by Alexander Dumas.

The reviewer has had limited exposure to the art form although a performance of Carmen in Verona’s amphitheatre was enough to stir the imagination to say nothing of the loins. So, this review is about the comparative virgin (metaphorically speaking) meeting the fallen woman.

Not knowing Italian, reliance had to be placed on reading the surtitles provided. Adjusting to this visual aid was easily achieved and one could see how the facial expressions and movements of the singers provided a visual confirmation of that narrative. After a while, less reliance was needed on the narrative and the splendour of the performance became more apparent.

The most important thing to remember while watching an opera is that the music drives the words that are sung and the acting. It is all about the composer’s themes and intentions, and how the performers can best communicate those. Because of this, even the passages of music where someone isn’t singing are still vital to the plot.

Keeping these things in mind will help you better understand the beauty and power of a classic art form like opera. There is nothing mystical about opera but it is often magical, where music and song combine to tell a story, express a virtue and enjoy what the human voice can achieve.

 Verdi once said "I adore art...when I am alone with my notes, my heart pounds and the tears stream from my eyes, and my emotion and my joys are too much to bear." These emotions are strongly in evidence in the WNO production of La Traviata. He also felt that the play was “un soggetto dell’epoca” – “a modern subject, a subject for our own time.”

Thankfully however the WNO sticks firmly with tradition and avoids changes like Willy Decker’s update to the 21^st century nor does it use  enormous sets like Zeffirelli did in the 1980s which critic Daniel Mendelsohn called ‘sumptuously unimaginative’ and the 90s which was described even more sumptuous and even less imaginative.

So what you witness at the Wales Millennium Centre is an opera very much set in the times it was written for. The opera itself provides a perfect lesson in understanding. It is a lesson in understanding because, as the opera’s preview notes explain, it is an attack on hypocrisy and also a life-affirming celebration of the fact that essential human qualities like compassion, love and self-sacrifice do exist. It’s the understanding and realisation of these qualities that eventually leads to the conclusion.

The production is the perfect lesson because from start to finish put simply it is perfection, made possible by the tireless efforts of all concerned on stage and behind the scenes to make it work.

Linda Richardson plays the lead role of Violetta. She was superb as the main character masterfully reflecting the highs and lows of Violetta’s health and lifestyle with her sympathetic intonations.  Violetta’s lover Alfredo, was convincingly portrayed by Peter Sonn as a sometimes hot-headed and irrational nobleman.

Alan Opie as Alfredo’s father, the villain of the piece, received the loudest round of applause! This may have been partly due to his worldwide popularity but he still turned in his usual highly polished performance.

There were other excellent performances most notably by Sian Meinir as Annina and Rebecca Afonwy-Jones as Flora. The orchestra under the baton of Simon Phillippo was outstanding in matching the mood of the story – tender, dramatic, rousing, jolly and seductive whenever appropriate. A mention also has to be made of the dance routine extremely well-choreographed and performed providing an added dimension to one’s overall enjoyment.

To their immense credit the WNO do as much as they can to make opera accessible and interesting to all. Apart from what the reader would have gleaned from this review so far, they have many more initiatives including a very informative website. Above all, however, it’s their quality productions that make them such a force and judging by yesterday’s sell out audience they attract a wide range of interested customers.