Yesterday, the radio opera was Verdi’s “La Traviata,” one of my favorites. It was recorded in China (normal for this time of the year) and all the singers were Chinese except the title character, who was born in Russia but now lives in Italy. That casting sits well with me – it reminds me of the “little red dress” production designed by Willy Decker, which was so controversial and which I didn’t expect to like, but fell in love with. Both productions make visible how much of an outsider Violetta is – and accordingly, how doomed she is – from the very first note. This one does so more subtly. The “little red dress” production hit the audience in the face with it, and never stopped hitting. That was about ten years ago, and many critics are still ranting about what a disaster they thought it was. I beg to differ. But yesterday’s production was vocally perfect – as almost all productions are, despite the difficulty of the music. I’ve only ever heard one that wasn’t, and that was only in one scene, but it was an important one, and even then, it wasn’t that either of the singers was bad, only that the blend between their voices wasn’t there. But I digress. Here are the good news:
