Opera North: La Traviata at The Lowry
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Opera North’s triple bill of shows at The Lowry kicks off with the company’s critically-acclaimed production of one the world’s most popular operas: Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, which captures all the glitz and glamour of pre-WWI Paris. It follows the tragic tale of the hedonistic courtesan Violetta, who falls in love with Alfredo, a young bourgeois. Unbeknown to her lover however, Violetta is seriously ill. Will their romance survive his family’s and society’s disapproval before it is all too late?
Packed with some of the best-known music in opera, including some of the most challenging and revered music in the entire soprano repertoire; the aria Sempre libera at the end of Act I is especially treasured. But beyond that, the musical continuity of the whole opera makes it a masterpiece. The taut plot and vivid characters paired with Verdi’s perfectly attuned music tend to result in few dry eyes by the end of Act III.
Directed by Alessandro Talevi with design from Madeleine Boyd (The Turn of the Screw, Don Giovanni).
“The perfect curtain-raiser for Opera North’s new season”
★★★★ — The Stage
“Alison Langer delivers… broken yet transcendentally graceful in her final moments”
★★★★ — The Times
