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    Opera Preview: Opera Columbus’ La Traviata June 1-5

    Giuseppe Verdi, in the 1800s, was a revolutionary opera composer. He was at the forefront of artists placing a greater emphasis on dramatic weight, consistency, and storytelling than showy vocal tricks. New Yorker writer Alex Ross said, “The greatness of Verdi is a simple thing. Solitary by nature, he found a way of speaking to limitless crowds, and his method was to sink himself completely into his characters. He never composed music for music’s sake; every phrase helps to tell a story.” His knack for storytelling and emotional intensity, coupled with those beautiful melodies, means his operas are still performed to rapturous audience reception including, perhaps, his most popular La Traviata which still makes applause rain down from the balconies over 150 years after it premiered. Columbus will get a chance to see a fascinating production, the result of a collaboration between Opera Columbus and the OSU School of Music (who did Sweeney Todd earlier in the year), at the Southern next week.

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    La Traviata adapted from a novel by the elder Alexandre Dumas, follows courtesan Violetta Valery (Andrea Shokery) as she chooses between lovers Baron Douphol (Justin Fields) and Alfredo Germont (Joshua Dennis) and struggles with tuberculosis. It’s a gripping opera with arias that even non-opera buffs will recognize. Over the next two seasons, there are at least (using Opera Base) 72 other productions of this being staged around the world.

    The rich roles here have been sung by every major opera singer since its premiere: from Maria Callas and Beverly Sills to Renee Fleming and Anna Netrebko, from Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo to Ramon Vargas and Charles Castronovo. Violetta is one of the most fascinating characters in the canon. New York Times writer Zachary Woolfe, going through modern takes on the role, detailed, “Anna Netrebko’s extravagant sensuality, Marina Poplavskaya’s bitter edge, Natalie Dessay’s desperate fragility… [Diana] Damrau had a bit of pugnacious adolescent spunk.” Given this wide canvas to play on for the Opera Columbus production, Andrea Shokery comes to us bearing raves from her work with Arizona Opera and the Studio at Kentucky Opera.  Joshua Dennis, playing Alfredo, has worked in some of the great companies of the world including Opera Naples and has premiered roles in new productions and world premieres with Santa Fe Opera and Arizona Opera. The other characters are filled out with other promising young talent. Justin Fields as Baron Douphol has been concentrating on choir work before going back to OSU for his master’s degree. Tim Renner as Germont is doing his first Verdi, though he’s performed powerhouse pieces like Carmina Burana and Die Fledermaus, as he pursues his doctorate. Katherine Petersen as Annina, Violetta’s maid, has been making her name with modernist classics including Villa-Lobos and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

    New York director Mary Birnbaum is building one of the most exciting directorial curriculum vitae in theatre today, bouncing between acclaimed operas like The Rape of Lucretia and Eugene Onegin, Jeremy Denk’s modern opera The Classical Style (which The Berkeley Planet raved about) and avant-leaning modern theatre like …Baby No More Times. The conductor of this piece is the new Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Rossen Milanov who has lit a new fire under the CSO and, in other roles, performed work by some of my favorite composers including Sarah Kirkland Snider (whose last two records both made my year-end lists for other venues). These two should have the perfect mix of understanding the tradition and bringing a modern sensibility to bear on this work.

    La Traviata will be performed at the Southern Theatre on June 1, June 3, and June 5. For tickets and more info, visit operacolumbus.org.

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    Richard Sanford
    Richard Sanfordhttp://sanfordspeaks.blogspot.com/
    Richard Sanford is a freelance contributor to Columbus Underground covering the city's vibrant theatre scene. You can find him seeking inspiration at a variety of bars, concert halls, performance spaces, museums and galleries.
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