Take that, Eurotrash!
The doyen of operatic stage direction has done it again! (Or, to be strictly accurate, he has done it for about the twentieth time, but who’s counting?) Thrill to the brilliantly innovative new production of La traviata Franco Zeffirelli just unveiled at the Rome Opera!
Oh, if only we could have a production of Traviata just like this here in New York! Or, even better, if only we could have two productions just like this!
Off-topic, but a few weeks back we had an intense debate over the merits of Danielle de Niesce. Well, I’m listening to her “V’Adoro Pupile” right now, and I definetly prefer it to Ruth Ann Swenson’s.
I saw De Niese in the house last night. Visually she is a stunner, slim, vivacious and a superb actress who fills each moment with life and intelligence. As a singer I found her quite ordinary. The voice is just a soubrette with not much color or quality though she does have agility. De Niese’s top notes are thin and spread a little. Even the older, reduced Swenson managed much, much more with each number than De Niese especially the “Piangero” and “Se Pieta”. As a total package she is attractive but as a pure singer she is ordinary.
Gaultier: I would rate her singing higher than you do but overall, I agree with you assessment (based on hearing her Rodelinda a couple of years ago). The voice itself is generically pretty.
Oh good Christ people…the man is like a hundred-and-two years old. When he dies you’ll all be lamenting his passing and his “glorious old-fashioned” productions. He’s known for his over-the-top productions. Why did any of think that he go all minimalist this late in game?
I meant to say – Would he go all minimalist this late in the game?
You are quite right NYCOQ, if Uncle Zef passes before I do- I will lament his passing and say nice things because I’ll be able to – not like some of the old po faced groaners in here who seldom see the beauty in anything and get their jollies from tearing everything down.
If he never does another thing, Zefferelli’s contribution to opera, film and the arts has been extraordinary – he’s a master and although some may critise him for things like “cuts” here or there, there is still no denying that his productions are always a feast for the eyes and have brought new audiences to opera. God bless him!!
Supposedly the body of the real lady of the camillias was sent to a Paris medical school and anatomized for an anatomy class. How would a production of Trav. go over if a gang from CSI Paris were shown in the shadows in the last act waiting for AG or RF or Neb to hit her high note and demise?
Excuse moi, but innovative? Looks more like a museum approach to me. I will take the wonderful Madrid production by Pizzi over this Zeffirelli-trash any day, thank you very much.
I am going to unload my own opinion here that I love the music of Traviata, but I find the libretto just a little too “19th century prissy.” Supposedly the Verdi marriage is in the plot and maybe that is why Verdi was behaving like Germont or Queen Victoria. The most interesting and daring husband-wife stuff GV put on stage is the I want a divorce scene from Stifelio.