An understudy saved the show at the Met’s “La Traviata” Friday night, but no star was born.
Jumping into the role of Violetta, the self-sacrificing courtesan in Verdi’s tragedy, was Hei-Kyung Hong, after soprano Natalie Dessay called in sick late Thursday night.
At first it sounded ominously like the Korean soprano had caught whatever sidelined the star, her voice breathy and feeble through the whole first act. She recovered, though, in time for the heroine’s last-act aria “Addio del passato,” floating a shimmering strand of melody into the hushed auditorium.
The 52-year-old singer also threw herself passionately into Willy Decker’s demanding production, whirling around the stage atop a sofa borne by chorus boys.
In fact, all this veteran of more than 20 Met seasons lacked was the “X factor,” the star quality that effortlessly mesmerizes audiences.
It’s a requisite for this diva role, as was demonstrated when superstar baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky entered in the second act and Hong seemed to fade into the background.
As Germont, the reproachful father of Violetta’s lover, he poured out lush mahogany tone in his two arias. In between, he furiously slapped his son, played by tenor Matthew Polenzani, in a scene of violence staged so realistically the audience gasped.
In contrast, Polenzani looked ill at ease with the acting demands of his role of Alfredo, though his sweet lyric voice blended well with Hong’s silvery soprano.
Decker’s updated staging remains the best show at the Met, setting Violetta’s scarlet cocktail dress as the only flash of color against white walls and a throng of black-suited men.
Echoing the production’s sleek, unsentimental look was Fabio Luisi’s fleet conducting of the Met orchestra. The busy maestro — he led both “Manon” and “Das Rheingold” the following day — sensitively matched Hong’s phrasing despite minimal rehearsal.
He’ll have to be on his toes again tomorrow night. That’s when Dessay is scheduled to rejoin the cast, a warm-up for Saturday afternoon’s “Live in HD,” telecast to movie theaters around the world.