La Traviata by Ukrainian National Opera of Kharkiv at Richmond Theatre

Opera isn’t everyone’s cup of tea although I admit that I am more than a bit of a fan. The last time I saw La Traviata (The Fallen Woman) was a few years ago and I was lucky enough to be at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden - and it was perfection. So it was with some trepidation that I went along to see this production at Richmond Theatre.

The irony wasn’t lost on me that I was watching an opera in Italian with a helpful English translation in a little box above the stage watching Ukrainian singers led by a Russian conductor with my Hungarian companion. That’s multi-cultural – especially as the woman playing the lead Violetta (Elena Dee) was Korean.

It’s a long production (two hours and 40 minutes but it has two intervals) but both me and my companion felt the time slipped past quickly – so engrossed were we in the story and the singing. The scenery sets were really rather lovely and the costumes were stunning – an unbelievable selection of exquisite pale floaty, frothy period dresses studded with sparkling sequins. It was a visual feast. The orchestra were rather special too – I would have been happy just listening to them play for the evening and was mesmerised by the flute and piccolo players.

Elena Dee is a tiny, slight figure and it is amazing that she produces such strong and powerful vocals – although on one or two occasions the volume felt almost overpowering. I wasn’t so impressed with the diminutive tenor Ruslan Zinevych who played Alfredo who was eclipsed by baritone Ievgenii Lysytskyi. What made this production stand out – for me – was the high quality of the acting which is sometimes sacrificed for the singing. I felt all the players genuinely portrayed their characters and emotions through their gestures and acting as much as through their singing. It was a powerful production.

The story, in a nutshell, is that Alfredo falls in love with beautiful courtesan Violetta, who has just recovered from consumption. He declares his love for her and after some soul searching about whether she wants to give up her freedom, she moves into a house with him outside Paris. She sells her possessions to keep them living their luxurious life style. Alfredo’s father Giorgio (performed brilliantly by Ievgenii Lysytskyi) visits Violetta and tells her that her association with his son is likely to affect his sister’s chances of marriage and will bring shame on the family. Violetta reluctantly agrees to leave even though she loves Alfredo very much but first she attends a friend’s party where Alfredo is naturally rather harsh – not knowing the real reason for her sudden departure. Finally, consumption returns and Violetta is dying and Alfredo (and his father) arrive just in time to acknowledge her sacrifice for the family. Then she dies.

The ultimate test for an opera for me is the extent to which it really moves me. And I admit that I was in tears as Act Two Scene One ended and I laughed at the gypsies and matadors in party scene in Act Two Scene Two. So I will go to the opera again in Richmond.