La traviata, at ENO/Eugene Onegin at Covent Garden, review

In a battle of directorial big-guns, Peter Konwitschny's taut production of La traviata completely outclasses Kasper Holten's naive production of Eugene Onegin

Corinne Winters as Violetta in ENO's 'La Traviata'

La Traviata: Rating * * * * *

Eugene Onegin: Rating *

After a few drab months on the London operatic stage, “Regietheater” has hit with a vengeance. But the contrasting fortunes of Verdi’s La traviata at English National Opera and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Covent Garden underline the fact that “directors’ opera” is only as good as the director.

In his belated British debut, that great man of German theatre Peter Konwitschny lays bare the emotional truths of Verdi’s opera, while – putting on his first work at Covent Garden – the Royal Opera’s Kasper Holten plays naively with Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece.

Dramatically taut, Konwitschny’s telescoped Traviata – some cuts to the score mean the show runs without an interval – occupies an almost empty stage, enclosed in a series of heavy red curtains (designed by Johannes Leiacker). But even the drapes run out by the time we reach Violetta’s death scene, and she finally dissolves into the blackness at the back of the stage.

By contrast, Holten clutters the haunting simplicity of Onegin with a dumbshow that is more dumb than show. His theme is memory, and the work is presented as a flashback for the middle-aged Tatyana and Onegin, who missed their chance for love. A Young Tatyana and Young Onegin get in the way of every scene, looking like frustrated ballet dancers, but at least the “memory doors” of Mia Stensgaard’s set are beautifully lit by Wolfgang Göbbel.

Spinning diamantine coloratura, Corinne Winters’ hypnotic Violetta leads an excellent ENO cast. Ben Johnson’s bookish Alfredo is freshly sung, Anthony Michaels-Moore is a hard-bitten Germont, and the whole cast is supported by Michael Hofstetter’s propulsive conducting.

Alas, Onegin is both dramatically incontinent and musically incoherent. Robin Ticciati delivers a passionless, bumpy ride over Tchaikovsky, Krassimira Stoyanova is a coarse Tatyana and Simon Keenlyside’s psychotic Onegin sounds rough. Pavol Breslik’s rather ordinary Lensky shines in this company.

'La traviata', to Mar 3; 'Eugene Onegin', to Feb 20