Alessandro Talevi directing La traviata

La Traviata G. Verdi. Opening 11 October, 2011 Cape Town Opera

Director's notes

There is always a lively debate about the ‘updating’ of operas, or at least changing the original period in which the piece is set into one other than that which the composer envisaged. I feel it should only be done when there is a compelling reason to do so; whatever the updating, it has to bring the essence of the work to light, in a way that the original setting might not. We must not forget that Verdi himself chose the present day as the setting for La traviata; this was the principal reason why the opera was a failure at its premiere – people were unprepared for and shocked by the realism of an opera in modern dress.

It is this realism or ‘verismo’ which is at the heart of La traviata, and I felt that 1920s Paris was the best setting in which to bring this opera to life with the artists of Cape Town Opera. This was the Paris of the Jazz Craze, where American jazz musicians and performers like Josephine Baker were creating a sensation. The city never slept – it was a melting pot of intellectuals and artists of all disciplines, attracted by the atmosphere of creative freedom and lack of repression. Artists like Picasso, Miró and Dalí lived and worked in Paris at this time, often collaborating with writers and designers on extremely avant-garde projects; these included names such as Jean Cocteau, Coco Chanel, Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky, Man Ray and Serge Diaghilev. I know of one particular stage production, done on a very low budget, for which Jean Cocteau wrote the scenario and dialogue, Picasso designed and painted the stage backcloth himself, and Chanel created the costumes.

All these artists were drawn to the bars and jazz clubs of Paris’ seedy underbelly, where parties often had fancy dress themes and patrons went to enormous lengths with their costumes. A particular favourite was the jazz nightclub, Le Bal Negre, a meeting place for the Afro-Caribbean community, which also became the centre of the fashionable Parisian craze for the ‘primitive’ and the 'exotic'.

One of the most important themes in La traviata is the clash of values between the young fashionable world to which Violetta belongs, and the conservative bourgeois society to which Alfredo is forced to return by his father; this conflict seems particularly compelling and real after World War II. Young people in all the major European countries questioned the values and judgement of their elders, and an establishment which had led their countries into a catastrophic war in which millions of young men on all sides lost their lives. Moral values, aesthetic rules and behavioural codes were all energetically challenged by young people, and the disapproval shown by the establishment towards these new trends was no less vigorous.

Verdi’s Violetta is a courtesan, a beautiful woman of intellect and accomplished social and artistic skills who received financial security from wealthy male benefactors in return for romantic and sexual 'favours'.

Who would Violetta have been in the 1920s? While the old courtesan tradition had died out by then, in some ways it was replaced by the existence, in Paris, of beautiful actresses, dancers and singers who moved in the charmed circles of the demi-monde, and who, despite their glamour and fame, often led extremely precarious existences. These women were often compelled to sell themselves to the highest bidder amongst their wealthy male admirers, thereby replicating the ancient courtesan tradition of earlier days.

Verdi’s La traviata

11,13,19,21 22 October 2011 @ 19:30

This major new production marks a number of other significant ‘homecomings’: South African-born star tenor Colin Lee makes his Cape Town operatic debut, fresh from triumphant appearances at Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera, and George Stevens returns from Germany to sing Germont père. Showcasing these three remarkable singers, acclaimed South African-born director Alessandro Talevi collaborates with British designer Madeleine Boyd to create a spectacular and romantic new production, set in Paris in the 1920s.

In 1853, Verdi scandalised Venice by writing a shockingly realistic tragedy (set in the present day) about a courtesan dying from tuberculosis. Now, more than 150 years after its controversial premiere, La traviata is the second most frequently performed opera in the world, an adored classic which has introduced millions to the emotive power of 19th century opera (including, memorably, Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman). The ‘fallen woman’ of the title, the courtesan Violetta Valéry, has been a key role for many of the great sopranos of our age, from Callas and Sutherland to Gheorghiu and Netrebko, and following her acclaimed performances last year in Lucia di Lammermoor, CTO is thrilled to welcome Bronwen Forbay back to make her role debut.

Cast List

Violetta Valery: Bronwen Forbay
Alfredo Germont: Colin Lee
Giorgio Germont: George Stevens
Flora Bervoix: Violina Anguelov
Annina: Arline Jaftha
Gastone Viscount de Letorières: Tshepo Moagi
Barone Duphol: Owen Metsileng/Amos Nomnabo
Marchese d’Obigny: Monde Masimini
Dottore Grenvil: Xolela Sixaba
Giuseppe: Amos Nomnabo/Owen Metsileng
Chorus: Cape Town Opera Chorus

Conductor & Chorus Master: Albert Horne
Director: Alessandro Talevi
Costume & Set Designer: Madeleine Boyd
Lighting Designer: Kobus Rossouw

http://www.capetownopera.co.za