Sunday, April 2, 1 p.m., Orcas Center
— from Susannah Weaver —
Orcas Center presents the New York Met’s revival of “La Traviata” by Verdi streaming Live in HD on Sunday, Apr. 2 at 1 p.m.This event is re-scheduled due to technical flaws in the scheduled opera, “Idomeneo;” that opera will now be streamed on April 9).
Sonya Yoncheva brings her acclaimed interpretation of the doomed courtesan Violetta Valéry to Live in HD audiences for the first time, opposite rising American tenor Michael Fabiano as her lover, Alfredo. Thomas Hampson sings one of his most acclaimed Met roles as Alfredo’s disapproving father.
In 1883, Verdi’s “La Traviata” survived a notoriously unsuccessful opening night to become one of the world’s best-loved operas; but has appeared in all but 16 seasons since. Its intimate scope and subject matter inspired the composer to create some of his most profound and heartfelt music. The title role of the “fallen woman” has captured the imaginations of audiences and performers alike with its inexhaustible vocal and dramatic possibilities—and challenges. Violetta is considered a pinnacle of the soprano repertoire. The New York Times declares: “A soprano grows into her stardom… It was a revelation to hear Ms. Yoncheva’s voice… She sounded wonderful throughout… Her voice was suffused with warmth.”
With “La Traviata,” Verdi and Francesco Maria Piav,e an Italian opera librettist, fashioned an opera from a play Dumas’ “La Dame aux Camélias” set in contemporary times—an anomaly in Verdi’s long career. Dumas’ play was a meditation on (and reinterpretation of) the author’s youthful affair with the celebrated prostitute Marie Duplessis, known as a sophisticated and well-read woman whose charms and tact far surpassed her station. The Met’s production by Willy Decker moves the action to an unspecified 21st-century setting. This staging is conducted by San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti.
Tickets for the Met’s “La Traviata” are $20 and $15 for students, with $2 off for Orcas Center members. They may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12-2 pm. $5 subsidized tickets available at the Box Office. For more information about Orcas Center’s 2017 season visit www.orcascenter.org.
