Wellington Opera’s La Traviata: moving and poignant

Emma Pearson and Phillip Rhodes as Violetta and Giorgio Germont: exquisite musical empathy

Photo credit: Stephen A’Court

When you stage the world’s most performed opera, you need to bring something special to the production. Wellington Opera achieved that this week, not by exploring fancy production innovations, modern dress or contemporary political references. They drew in the opening night audience, many very familiar with the story of the tragic courtesan Violetta, by complex character development as subtle as I’ve seen in La Traviata. It was an enormously moving and poignant production because we participated so directly in the inner anguish of two of the main roles.

Verdi’s La Traviata stands or falls on the performance of the soprano lead, playing the huge role of Violetta. Emma Pearson sang with brilliance and beauty of tone, using all the lovely timbres of her voice to reveal the many facets of Violetta’s conflicted personality. The coquettish flirt on the surface, the genuine and passionate lover of Alfredo and the lonely and fragile invalid were all marvellously expressed by this consummate opera singer. She owned the stage throughout, her superb singing of the famous “Sempre libera” (Always free) in Act 1 just one of many delights.

Soprano Emma Pearson as Violetta in Act 1

…brilliance and beauty

Photo credit: Stephen A’Court

Baritone Phillip Rhodes played the role of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father and the agent of much of the story’s grief. Again, we saw the full multi-dimensional complexity of a character, one not always seen sympathetically in productions of La Traviata.  The dark clarity of Rhodes’ beautiful baritone and his compelling stage presence gave us a Germont full of righteous paternal authority, but also torn by conflict, and capable of genuine remorse and grief for the damage he does to his son and Violetta.

The duets between Rhodes and Pearson in Act 2, when Germont insists Violetta leave his son, were the emotional highlights of the evening. Both singers have an instinctive feel for Verdi’s beautiful lines and their ensemble was perfectly paced and balanced. They provided moments of exquisite musical empathy that unfortunate circumstances, explained below, denied the audience elsewhere.

This new opera company was launched last year with Mozart’s Don Giovanni (reviewed here), an audacious move at a time when performing arts curtains were falling all over a pandemic-disrupted world. Wellington Opera leadership had to hold its nerve again this year, with the Omicron wave in Wellington threatening to surge and an added uncertainty, till recently, that the seismically-strengthened St James Theatre would re-open in time. Sadly, they didn’t get off scot-free; before the curtain rose, the company’s Artistic Director Matthew Ross took the stage to explain cast substitutions, because tenor Oliver Sewell, cast in the leading male role of Violetta’s lover Alfredo, was isolating as a COVID-19 household contact, while Hannah Catrin Jones, playing Violetta’s friend Flora, had the virus.

Running an opera company is not for the faint-hearted, but in the spirit of “the show must go on”, and faced with a sympathetic audience dressed up for opening night, everyone adapted. The part of Alfredo was sung at short notice from a stalls-level box by tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono (originally cast in the more minor role of Gastone).  On stage, Assistant Director Nino Raphael ‘walked’ the role, and Director Sara Brodie walked Gastone.  Raphael and Brodie wore dark pandemic masks, an odd touch which disguised the fact they were not singing. Chorus member Xavier Krause sang Gaston from off-stage, and Hannah Ashford-Beck, with more notice, took the role of Flora.

Fonoti-Fuimaono, one of this year’s Lexus Song Quest semi-finalists, has a very lovely tenor voice which he used to good effect from off stage. Of course, the electricity of the relationship between Violetta and Alfredo was greatly reduced, although the tenderness of their love in the final scene was intimate and moving as Pearson sang Violetta’s dying moments.

Violetta (Emma Pearson) and Alfredo (Oliver Sewell), watched by Annina, (Katherine Winitana)

Dress rehearsal photo by Stephen A‘Court

Other singing roles were effectively portrayed, particularly Wade Kernot’s warm and secure presence as the Dottore (doctor), and Katherine Winitana as Violetta’s maid, always a sympathetic foil for her mistress. Samuel Downes was well-cast and vocally strong as the Barone.

In this production the narrative is located in Dior’s Paris of the 1950’s, with a stylishly understated and marvellously adaptable set designed by Mark McEntyre and sensitively lit by Paul O’Brien. It transformed effortlessly from the faded grandeur of Act 1’s mirrored party spaces to a lovely botanical setting for Act 2 in the countryside and then to a simple bedroom for the dying Violetta in Act 3.

Violetta’s costumes, designed by Tony de Goldi, made the symbolic transformation from glamorous scarlet party dress through pastoral pastels to angelic white for the final scene.  Less successful were the costumes for the chorus, ill-fitting suits and unflattering pyjama-like outfits that evoked less a sense of Dior’s style and more a messy student party.

Musically the work of the chorus was fine, with strong bright singing from a talented group of singers. Simpler choreography and movement from the ensemble would have avoided some visually distracting and rather amateurish moments. Orchestra Wellington’s musicians in the pit under the capable baton of Hamish McKeich danced their way delightfully through Verdi’s waltzes, with some outstanding solo work from the winds.

Hats off to Wellington Opera for fleet-footed management in challenging times, and their commitment to creating productions with an all-New Zealand cast and crew. They’re contributing to industry development while offering Wellington’s audience opportunities to enjoy some of the most popular operatic repertoire. I wish them well for the rest of the season, which continues for three more performances. COVID disruptions may be eased later in the week, with a full cast including Sewell due back on stage on Thursday.

Wellington Opera: Verdi’s La Traviata, Sara Brodie (Director), Hamish McKeich (Conductor), Michael Vinten (Chorus Director) Matthew Ross (Artistic Director of Wellington Opera).  July 12, 14 and 16, St James Theatre, Wellington. More information and tickets.