Review-La Traviata-Opera Hong Kong
11-10-12
By: Meaghan McGurgan
According to Opera Hong Kong's program, Verdi's La Traviata is the second most performed opera in the world. That means a lot of people do it and a lot of people love it. So when you do it - you have to do it well. As this opera is long and I want to save time, a link to the full summary of the plot can be found here.
The basic story is: Boy meets courtesan (aka hooker), Boy loves Hooker, Hooker gives up everything to be with him, Boy rejects Hooker in a public and shameful way, Hooker has TB and coughs a lot, Boy begs forgiveness, Hooker dies. The End. Everybody sings as curtain falls! Classic opera... At least no one committed suicide in this one!
There was a lot that I liked about Opera Hong Kong's version of La Traviata and a lot I didn't like. One big thing that I feel I need to warn the audience about is that the first fifteen minutes of this production are very strobe heavy. If you are light sensitive in any way or suffer from any conditions that may be triggered by fast moving lights I would not attend this show. Several audience members including myself felt very ill from the beginning of the show. There were no warnings posted in any of the ads for the show or the lobby which was a BIG faux pas in my books as it can be dangerous to your audience's health. Rant over...
Director's Dieter Kaegi's concept was good. I liked the symbolism in celebrities as modern day hookers. It was clever and gave an interesting take on the classic opera. I did not enjoy his staging for the most part but I feel he was really locked in by a very constraining set that chopped the Grand Theatre in half. But I felt Mr. Kaegi didn't use the set to its full advantage. The one part of the set that was really stunning was the large rake in the upstage and he only used it for about five minutes. The rest of the show was shoved into the downstage.
I saw the "A Cast" of this production. Leads Rachelle Durkin and Gianluca Terranova as Violetta and Alfredo were amazing. I cannot say enough nice things about them. They simply brought the house down vocally. I really loved Ms. Durkin's aria in Act 1 where she laid down on the floor and sang. Visually stunning and beautifully sung.
Now, time for a moment of honesty. I HATED most of the production designs in this version. They were trying to go for simple and modern with the set design and it was simply ugly with all that carpet. The golf cart in Act 2 was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. One, you couldn't see any of the actors in it because the top of the cart blocked the light and it was simply a gimmick. They used it to drive on stage and then drive off because they thought it would look cool. And it didn't, it looked stupid. If you're going to bring a giant golf cart on stage - use it! The set design cut the space in half making it seem too small for the amount of actors on stage. The CGI effects on the cyc came across as cheesy rather than chic or modern. I liked the third act most because the cyc went away and we could really open up the space. But it made me sad that 3/4 of this opera went by before I found any qualities in the set I liked.
The lighting design overall seemed to not have enough front light. We couldn't see the actor's faces clearly unless they were directly center stage. Since a majority of the show was done on the down stage lip we couldn't see their expressions for most of the show. Top light and side light seemed unbalanced as we could see auras around the performer's faces but no actual features (particularly on any actor with hair loss issues). I did like the lighting in the casino scene and for the last moment. I did like the costume design in the production especially the opening dress for Violetta and the card dealer outfits.
Now, if you can get the cheaper tickets to this production I recommend it as it's one of the few shows we get in town with a live orchestra playing. Live music makes it SO much better than when it's canned. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra did a wonderful job backing up the singers with the full score. Adding the value of the live orchestra to the high caliber of the lead performers I would say the show is worth it for the cheaper tickets or if you can buy them at the student rate. If you can't get the cheap seats, I recommend you wait for La Traviata to come onto RTHK 4's website for free on October 26th. The performance tonight was filmed and will be shown there. It's a great option for cash strapped artists who want to enjoy the local opera scene but don't have the 500HKD to spend on a ticket.
La Traviata is playing at the Grand Theatre at the Cultural Centre in TST through out the weekend. Click this link for more production details!
Comments
Steven
Their carman was terrible. Wouldn't be surprised if this was bad also. I love opera but opera hk makes terrible design choices consistently.
12 October 2012Joe
The lighting design was so bad. You couldn't see any of their faces. I can appreciate people being artistic with their lighting but I don't think not being able to see the actor's faces is an artistic choice. It's sloppy.
13 October 2012Ping Chen
Completely agree with this review. The singers were amazing but the design was ridiculous and distracting from the wonderful performances.
15 October 2012