Verdi’s La Traviata
and Puccini’s La Boheme have of
course some great similarities. Each is
a story centered on a Parisian woman who wins and then loses at love, only to
be reunited with her lover just before dying from tuberculosis. Each opera is its composer’s most popular –
and not for nothing is that true, as they are so full of beautiful music each
is the equivalent of a greatest hits album.
The Traviata
production featured Albina Shagimuratova as Violetta, Giorgio Berrugi as her
lover Alfredo, and Zeljko Lucic and his father Germont. In recent years Lyric patrons have heard the
wonderful voices, and seen the wonderful acting, of Shagimuratova and Lucic, while
Berrugi was very strong in his Lyric debut.
Boheme starred Maria Agresta
as the ill-fated Mimi, Michael Fabiano as her lover Rudolfo, Ann Toomey as her
friend Musetta, and Zachary Nelson as his friend Marcello. Agresta and Nelson were heard last season in
Puccini’s Turandot.
Both productions featured strong singing and acting, with
sets that were visually traditional yet appealing to a more modern sensibility –
no wacky reinterpretations here by self-centered directors.
Lyric patrons won’t see these two gems for a while. Traviata
and Boheme were last produced in 2013,
so it’s maybe a 5-6 year cycle. Next
year Luisa Miller and Madama Butterfly will provide our Verdi
and Puccini fixes, spiced up with a production of selected scenes from Donizetti’s
The Three Queens and Rossini’s Barber of
Seville. But for now Lyric patrons have warm weather to get through.
R Balsamo
Related posts on these operas:
https://criticalthoughtsblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/la-traviata-at-michigans-harbor-country.html
https://criticalthoughtsblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/la-boheme-at-lyric.html
