La Traviata

Since its debut in 1994, Richard Eyre’s production of La Traviata, with its elegant period sets and costumes by Bob Crowley, has been in regular rotation at the Royal Opera House. This latest revival, directed by Pedro Ribeiro, is invigorated by the exciting performance from Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa as Violetta (she is one of three sopranos, the others being Kristina Mkhitaryan and Anush Hovhannisyan, to essay the role in the autumn season).

Oropesa shows total command of her vocal instrument, thrilling with her expansive dynamic and expressive range. Dramatically, she is at her best in the heart-rending final act, as Violetta in the final stages of consumption, clinging to the hope of a final meeting with her beloved Alfredo (Liparit Avetisyan). Avetisyan brings a tenderness to this scene that almost compensates for his nervous energy elsewhere. Christian Gerhaher, as Alfredo’s moralistic father, Giorgio Germont, is a solid if somewhat stolid presence, while Stephanie Wake-Edwards is warm and engaging as Flora.

In Verdi’s era, the disease that finishes off Violetta, tuberculosis, was as terrifying as Covid-19 is in our own time, mercilessly stealing health and lives. After 18 months of the pandemic, it’s hard not to have that in the back of one’s mind, even as one is grateful to be able to escape into the gorgeous world of Eyre’s La Traviata, made more life-enhancing with the exhilarating performance by Oropesa.