Review: MN Opera Performance
On May 9, I attended Minnesota Opera’s production of “La Traviata” as a part of Professor Allison Adrian’s Music of the Twin Cities class. “La Traviata” is a classic opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi. It follows the story of Violetta, a beautiful courtesan in Paris. The show opens on a lively party scene where Violetta is introduced to Alfredo Germont, a young man who has been admiring her from afar for over a year. Alfredo proclaims his love for Violetta, and though at first she laughs him off, he eventually wins her heart. She gives up her comfortable, freewheeling lifestyle to move to the country with Alfredo.
Three months later, Violetta and Alfredo cross paths at a party. Alfredo is grief stricken and begs to know why she broke things off. Violetta sidesteps the question, and feigns love for her benefactor, Baron Douphol. Alfredo becomes angry, and lashes out, throwing handfuls of money at Violetta. He then announces to the rest of the party-goers that he has repaid his debt for the time they spent together. He regrets his outburst instantly, and falls to the ground as the ensemble reproaches him for his wretched behavior.
A few months after the disastrous party, Violetta is confined to her bed, dying of consumption. She clutches a letter from Alfredo in which he tells her that his father explained everything, and he is on his way to ask her for forgiveness. She worries that he will come too late to say goodbye. Just as Violetta seems to be slipping away, Alfredo appears in her doorway. The couple has a joyous reunion, but their happiness is short lived. Moments after Alfredo’s arrival, Violetta dies in his arms, and the curtain closes on this tragic tableau.
Minnesota Opera did an excellent job producing this opera. There was not a weak performer in the entire cast. Nicole Cabell, the soprano playing Violetta, was a true stand out. Her clear, beautiful voice fit the music perfectly, and she made Verdi’s challenging arias sound effortless with her stunning vocal control. Her expressive face and natural movement helped draw the audience into the story and keep them rapt from beginning to end. Cabell’s dynamic portrayal of Violetta had the audience sympathizing with and rooting for the heroine right up to her untimely death.
The technical aspects of this production were just as polished and well executed as the performance elements. I was particularly impressed with the lighting design. Throughout the show, the lighting corresponded perfectly to the mood of the scene. Boisterous party scenes were lit with cheery golden undertones while the more romantic moments were highlighted with softer blue and white hues. In the third act, while Violetta lay ailing in her bedroom, the only light from a door that was slightly ajar. Later in the scene, the door was flung open and the room was bathed in fresh morning sunlight, or at least such a close approximation of it that I could almost feel a light breeze whispering through the auditorium.
After the show, I was lucky enough to speak to Kristie Tigges, who is both a St. Kate’s faculty member and a soprano in the “La Traviata” chorus. Tigges has been performing with Minnesota Opera since 2012, and was able to give me a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak.
“‘La Traviata’ rehearsals started March 30th, and it opened on May 4th. So that rehearsal process, considering the size of the chorus in this, went fast. The music is pretty consuming. It was a long rehearsal day on Saturday, then Tuesday and Thursday nights from seven to ten. So you kind of have to go into it ready, knowing that you can memorize your music and be pretty well memorized by the time you start staging,” Tigges said of the production process.
When asked how staged the movement in the show is, Tigges said “It is very particularly staged. Now, this stage director did it that way. I found her to be more exacting than some stage directors will be with a crowd scene. She went to great pains to make sure that the stage picture always looked the way she wanted it to. She really wanted the party scenes to have a natural sort of life. She would pick apart little details about little scenes that were going on over by the dining table or over by the settee and give specifics about how you should move and how you should be engaged in that. With those crowd scenes, she was pretty particular about telling you exactly where you should be.”
I asked Tigges if she had a favorite scene in the opera. She said that she did, but it was not the scene most people would expect. “It’s interesting because the scene that looks like everyone’s having fun and has the chorus that’s the most fun and sounds like it would be the most fun scene, is the libiamo (the party scene where Violetta and Alfredo meet). And it’s certainly fun. It’s satisfying and beautiful Verdi music, and then shortly after that comes another big, uplifting chorus. But I find the one that’s the most exciting to sing is in the second act. It’s when Alfredo has come back and discovered that Violetta has returned to the Baron and he throws the money at her. The crowd comes back and we’re all horrified, and then we sing that chorus. We’re angry at him and everyone is singing together and the orchestra is super strong, and at that moment, everyone on stage is able to have a good view of the conductor, and to really come to that climactic point and then all of the sudden in unison, almost everyone is singing the same melody, and the orchestra’s playing that same theme underneath you. There’s such a drive in it, and I find it to be very exciting!” Tigges explained.
Minnesota Opera’s performance of “La Traviata” was beautiful, professional, and exciting. Every aspect of the show, from the singing to the acting to the stage design, was executed to perfection. The St. Kate’s community can take pride in knowing that one of our members is involved in such a high-quality production.
