I was extremely
hesitant when the Singapore Lyric Opera offered me tickets to review
La Traviata because what I know of western opera can easily
fit on the head of a pin - with space left over for the entire cast
of The Ring Cycle. After nearly ten years of writing about
theatre, I believe I have a fairly firm grasp on the standards and expectations
for many genres of theatre. Like, I suspect, many Inkpot readers,
however, I have had a very limited exposure to opera, both in terms
of stage performances as well as music. I have watched only a couple
of fully staged opera productions before so my experience of opera consists
largely of hearing snatches of the music in films or on TV.
My new year resolution in 2008, however, is to broaden my horizons
and learn more about other art forms besides theatre so I decided to
bite the bullet and rise to the challenge. The Singapore Lyric Opera
was also very supportive: the idea was for me to share my relatively
virgin experience with the Inkpot's other equally opera-challenged
readers - and, hopefully, show them that opera is not the big,
scary animal that many think it is.
Indeed, I found much to appreciate in La Traviata. There were
aspects of the opera that, as I expected, I initially had difficulties
coming to terms with: the exaggerated acting, the contrived plot, the
florid lines of poetry. However, once I accepted these as part of the
genre and just tried to take the production for what it was, I enjoyed
the performance a lot more than I thought I would. For example, classical
music is not what I would ever put on my iPod but, to my surprise, I
was swept away by Verdi's dramatic score, alternatingly rousing
and haunting and energized by a live orchestra (the impressive Philharmonic
Orchestra) and powerful vocal performances by the three leads. I am
not able to hum any of the score after the show, to be honest, but,
as I watched the show, I found the music stirring and evocative and
it certainly helped to build the emotional peaks and troughs of the
love story that was unfolding onstage. Director Stephen Barlow's
decision to restore Verdi's two-interval structure was also a
wise one as it made the music of La Traviata less overwhelming
for audience members like me who were listening to more opera music
that one evening than they had had in the last couple of years.
I also could not help but be impressed by the obvious technical difficulty
of the vocal performances. I picked up much richness and emotional force
in the leads' voices. Having said that, while both Lee Jae Wook (Alfredo)
and Song Kee Chang (Giorgo, his father) showed off majestic vocal power,
at least to my untrained ear, their vocal delivery was rather lacking
in variety at times. The same, unfortunately, could also be said for
their acting performances. Lee, in particular, was rather muted and
one-note and, thus, not very convincing as a man overwhelmed first with
love and then with anger at his perceived betrayal by his lover. Singapore-based
opera sensation Yuen as Violetta, the misunderstood courtesan with a
heart of gold, has a beautiful soprano voice which was strong and clear
even during difficult runs but where she really outshone the other two
principal cast members was in her wider range when it came to using
her voice to express emotions. She also benefited from having more shading
in her acting performance (as much as can be expected in light of the
expectation of larger-than-life performances in opera anyway): I had
a greater sense of her character's growth and journey than I did of
Lee's even though it is Alfredo who has to eventually learn the error
of his ways and seek redemption from a spurned and dying Violetta.
I also liked the large ensemble cast all of whom were fully present
in their performance and added much vibrancy to their two key scenes,
that of the lavish house-party which opens La Traviata and
the one where Alfredo humiliates Violetta by publicly denouncing her
in front of all her friends. The elaborate costumes and hairdos which
brought out the festive and decadent flavour of 1889 Paris (which Barlow
had transposed the play some forty years to) and the spirited Spanish-influenced
dance number by a troupe of matadors and gypsies played by dancers from
the Rose Borromeo Spanish Dance Company and Dance Circle Studios were
the other memorable elements of the production. Opera thrives on the
big and grand and I felt that this production achieved it for the most
part. Where La Traviata stumbled in this regard, however, were
the sets which looked most distractingly like they were made of cheap
cardboard, especially in the first act. More effort really should have
been made to make them more ornate; failing which, perhaps the lighting
design should have been more striking and high-contrast so that this
flaw would have been less obvious.
La Traviata was a good place to start on my journey into
opera because the production is very accessible (aided as I was by detailed
programme notes and line-by-line translations in English and Mandarin
on the screens next to the stage) and even though it feels cliched after
inspiring everything from Pretty Woman to Moulin Rouge
and is marred by a middle section and final climax that are drawn out
for far too long, the love story remains a dramatic and engaging one.
There was a part of me that would have liked to have seen some re-imagining
of the Verdi original, the last opera I had seen being the film version
of Julie Taymor's The Magic Flute which was staggering in its
visual power and use of abstract symbols. On the other hand, I am also
glad that this was a very literal presentation because, while it lacked
the exhilaration of the fresh and new, it gave me an insight into opera
in its most traditional form and this proved satisfying on its own terms.
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"I was swept away by Verdi's dramatic score and the powerful vocal
performances by the three leads."
Credits
Music: Giuseppe Verdi
Text: Francesco Maria Piave
Director: Stephen Barlow
Conductor: Eric Zhu Qiyuan
Orchestra: The Philharmonic Orchestra
Set Designer: Alex Brown
Costume Designer: Goh Suhan
Lighting Designer: Dorothy Png
Repetiteur: Lim Yan
Chorus Master: Zechariah Goh Toh Chai
Associate Chorus Master: Adrian Poon Watt Boon
Chorus: The Singapore Lyric Opera Chorus
Choreographers: Rose Borromeo and Filomar C. Tariao
Dance Manager: Tania Goh
Dancers: Jenette Baldono Anzalone, Jean Ho Wui Chin,
Tay Shuwen Amanda, Jenifer V Baldono, Lucy Li Xim Filomar Tariao, Neo
Lih Tre Trevelyan, Wang Xiao Hui, Li Yong Nan, Zhang Minggao.
Production Technical Director: Tay Huey Meng
Stage Manager: Huen Yeen Theng, Lu
Wardrobe Mistress: Engie Ho
Costume: Masquerade
Hair and Make Up: Aileen Poh
Cast: Nancy Yuen, Lee Jae Wook, Song Kee Chang, Clarissa
Ocampo, Lemuel dela Cruz, Tan Sin Sim Denise, Saran Suebsantiwongse,
Brent Allock, Lawrence A. Jatayna, John Jay G. Marzan, Bernini D. Abella,
Jesus Emmanuel Baang
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