To Holland Park for La Traviata last night. The two Traviatas I remember are Franco Zeffirelli’ 1982 film and a 2013 production by the Met.
There is some cross-over between them as Zeffirelli used the orchestra under James Levine and some singers from the Met in his film and Placido Domingo sang in both productions. In 1982 he was Alfredo, a tenor; by 2013 he was Alfredo’s father, a baritone.
Holland Park have revived their 2018 production which explains why the set seemed familiar. Violetta is a demanding role and two sopranos share the task. Australian, Lauren Fagan, who sang the part to much acclaim in 2018 is one but last night we heard another young singer, British-Irish (that is how she describes herself) soprano Alison Langer. Ideally Violetta and Alfredo would be well-matched vocally but last night Violeta stole the show. She sang and acted superbly although there was little sign in the first three acts that she would shortly die of tuberculosis, but that’s Verdi’s fault; he never likes credibility to get in the way of a slew of catchy arias and duets.