By Peter McCallum
La Traviata. Opera Australia
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. March 1
★★★★★
Nicole Car's debut as Violetta in Elijah Moshinsky's classic 1994 production of La Traviata is a significant rite of passage in her auspicious career trajectory.
Nicole Car commanded the stage from the outset.Credit: Prudence Upton
Moshinsky's production is so true to the essence of Verdi's near-perfect musico-dramatic structure that there is nowhere that the "fallen one" of the title role can actually fall without it being strikingly obvious.
As suggested by the immediate standing ovation at the curtain, Car did not disappoint. With a voice as richly coloured as her deep velvet dress and as strong as Violetta's consumption-wracked body is weak, she took command of the stage from Act One's first champagne toast to the last act's final breath.
With a persona as engaging as a laugh and compelling as the deep cry of self-sacrifice that is the character's fate, the line was always glowing, clear and precise.
Ji-Min Park as Alfredo sang with a degree of reserve in Act One, the tone still reticent, though this added to the character's complexity as he opened out with expressive contrast and attractively rounded colour in the opening scene of Act Two.
The chemistry between the two evolved as the evening progressed finding convincing connection in the spare final scene. As the sternly patriarchal Giorgio Germont, Vitaliy Bilyy sang with a voice of rewarding fullness and consistency although at times his rhythmic freedom pulled at the tautness of Verdi's metric structure.
The persona was somewhat more overbearing in Act Two than is customary, which altered the affinity he needs to establish with Violetta as the wanted father-figure.
As Flora, Violetta's confidante, Anna Dowsley both sang and acted with effervescent freshness, while Natalie Aroyan as the maid Annina brought discreet, reliable strength.
Adrian Tamburini, Tom Hamilton and John Longmuir as Douphol, d'Obigny and Gastone, created a varied trio of the cynical, self-entitled exploiters of female disempowerment that is the story's context and Gennadi Dubinsky as Doctor Grenvil contributed gravitas to the final scene and vocal weight to the great closing quintet.
Conductor Andrea Licata established tempi that were often quite measured, which allowed the singers time to shape the line though occasionally at the expense of vitality, momentum and dramatic discipline.
Opera Australia Orchestra's sound from the new acoustic engineering of the orchestra pit was rewarding in colour and clarity offering a much improved integration with chorus and principals on stage and the chorus itself was excellent, nowhere more so than in the dramatic end to Act Two.
One must not forget that this production, on top of its aural richness, is also a feast for the eye, with opulent Second Empire designs from Michael Yeargan and Peter Hall, and dramatic finesse in Nigel Levings' lighting.
Both for those who know this production and those yet to see it, this is a revival you will not want to miss.