La Traviata

To  La Traviata with Elder Daughter - an opera which despite having gone to opera for over 30 years I had never seen.  This was the classic Richard Eyre production of 1995 with Ailyn Perez singing an excellent Violetta, Piotr Beczala as Alfredo, and the ever wonderful Simon Keenlyside as an outstanding Giorgio Germont.  Ji Hyun Kim made a fine début as Gastone de Letorieres,

It was a fine set of performances and a very good production, and there is much to admire in the opera. But I confess I find it underwhelming. This is partly because it takes itself so seriously, whereas the great Mozart de Pontes, like Shakespeare, mingle comedy in the seriousness.But perhaps I was a little tired and ill.

The programme notes point out that the "inside outside" duet (where Violetta is debating whether to fall in love with Alfredo, whilst Alfredo is singing his love-ballad outside) is one of the things that only Opera can do. In general Opera allows the characters to speak simultaneously in a way that the Theatre cannot.