This DVD captures what was a new venture for Opera Australia
in 2012. Going under the title of Handa Opera, the company put
on a large-scale performance of La Traviata on a floating
stage on Sydney Harbour with the cityscape forming a very impressive
setting. At times it’s very impressive to look at, at
times it’s hackneyed to the point of cliché, but
you just might enjoy it, especially if you know Sydney.
Ever a sucker for marketing, it was the - slightly touched-up
- cover photo that drew me to this DVD and, truth be told, it’s
the setting that makes this Traviata both interesting
and flawed. The backdrop of Sydney is stunning to see, with
the floodlit Opera House and Harbour Bridge taking their place
in the overall scheme. When I was lucky enough to go to a performance
in the Sydney Opera House back in 2002, I thought to myself
that no theatre in the world has a better view to take in during
your interval drinks. You get much of that here, including the
ferries steaming by, but you also get to see Jørn Utzon’s
crazy creation itself. In fact, though, you don’t get
to see much of the bridge and theatre: instead it’s the
city skyscrapers that most often fill the backdrop, and their
most prominent features are the lit-up advertisements for banks
and hotels that are forever creeping in behind the singers’
heads! Bregenz it isn’t, but as a setting for a floating
stage it’s not at all bad. The major disadvantage with
a large-scale outdoor performance like this comes with the recorded
sound which is necessarily boxy and artificial. The singers
all wear radio-microphones and the orchestra is imprisoned below
the stage, and the two are blended together to produce the sound
from your DVD speaker. It’s limited, but you need to accept
this and learn to live with it early on in the performance.
The performance itself is fine, if a little workaday in places.
Emma Matthews is a very effective Violetta. She uses her lyrical
voice to great effect, singing with ringing intensity and a
good deal of beauty, pinging out the high notes and never showing
any discomfort. She also manages to change the colour of her
voice most effectively for the final act. The men aren’t
as impressive. Gianluca Terranova is solid and has all the notes,
but he’s a bit of a belter and doesn’t really know
the meaning of subtlety, perhaps another consequence of the
setting. Even the normally reliable Jonathan Summers is a bit
off colour. He tends to attack the notes from below and in the
high sections, such as Pura siccome un angelo, he sounds
noticeably stretched.
Francesca Zambello’s production is both large-scale and
sparse at the same time. The main stage is meant to be a gilt-edged
mirror, representing the characters’ obsession with physical
appearance, though I admit that this was lost on me. Costumes
are fairly non-specific, though the matadors and gypsies at
Flora’s party all look outrageous. The crowd scenes naturally
work best, and the duets and arias tend to be a bit lost on
the massive stage. Furthermore, the massive chandelier that
overhangs the set looks very pretty but isn’t used very
much at all, except perhaps as a great, clunking metaphor that
is as subtle as Terranova’s singing. Zambello couldn’t
resist letting off a tirade of fireworks at the end of the Brindisi
and, more effectively, a single shot as Violetta dies. In fact,
in an extremely vacuous interview in the extras she displays
typical directorial modesty by claiming that fireworks will,
from now on, be an essential part of La Traviata!
Make of all this what you will, but let’s be honest: this
DVD will appeal in particular to those who were at the performance
or those who know Sydney, and for one watch I enjoyed it. However,
performances from Solti
and Gheorghiu, or Pappano
with Fleming, are safe on my shelves. Go into it this once
with open eyes and you’ll probably enjoy it.
Simon Thompson
Violetta - Emma Matthews 
[141:00] 