Glyndebourne’s first production of La Traviata for more than 25 years sees Russian soprano Venera Gimadieva, as consumptive tragic heroine Violetta, laid out on her bed at the beginning and end of every scene.
It lends Tom Cairns’ creation a grand, picturesque setting and creates the sense we are staring at a painting made from Verdi’s tragedy.
Gimadieva is far from statuesque, though. Her voice is formidable and her acting almost equal. Conductor Mark Elder brings the piece to life, exquisitely and effortlessly taking the London Philharmonic from subtle to sublime and back again.
Hildegard Bechtler’s set design and costumes give the story a timeless feel, which, while it helps us concentrate on the performance and arc of Violetta and Alfredo (the American tenor Michael Fabiano also on his Glyndebourne debut), makes the story of Violetta’s sacrifice for her lover harder to believe.
On it goes from an almost Jazz Age-style during the drinking song to a contemporary-looking Italy, or at least a contemporary-looking Italian with Alfredo’s gruesome father, Giorgio Germont (Tassis Christoyannis), dressed in suit and overcoat, as he delivers an effective baritone.
Fabiano doesn’t quite match the slim-line and glamorous Gimadieva for instant magnetism, but gradually warms to the role, eventually matching the control and patience of the leading lady without ever quite knocking one over.
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