Playing catch-up...

I’m so behind with my reviews so trying to play catch-up here, folks.

La Traviata, Met Opera

Friday, January 7

8pm performance

Time Stands Still, Cort Theatre

Saturday, January 8

2pm performance

Trish and I checked out the new production of La Traviata at the Met.  I, of course, was quite excited to see how it would compare to my highly acclaimed staging for Pineda Lyric (yes, I’m joking). 

There was some crazy shit happening on the Met stage!  Instead of a traditional approach, director Willy Decker’s stark production made ample use of symbolism, sometimes forsaking textual accuracy for the sake of emotional clarity.  For a better explanation, you can read James Jordan's review (he's also the editor of Parterre), which is far more detailed and erudite than anything I could compose. 

Decker’s modern-dress production is much more visceral and emotional than what could be accomplished through a traditional staging.  Without the social constraints of period etiquette and costumes, Violetta and Alfredo are free to be much more physical and sexual.  The textual inaccuracies didn’t really bother me.  I particularaly liked how Decker integrated Violetta into the beginning of Act 2, turning “De' miei bollenti spiriti” into a fun game of hide-and-seek.  I can’t wait to steal that little bit of staging when we revive it for Pineda Lyric.

Poplavskaya - try saying that five times fast - is a committed and thrilling actress.  She has a surprisingly dark tone (gotta' love those Russians) but her top is thin and some of the coloratura got away from her the night we watched. She and the orchestra were also at odds with tempi.  Poplavskaya would at times visibly beat time with her head to push the orchestra along and many rubato passages seemed to catch conductor and orchestra off guard (possible merchandising alert - Poplavskaya bobble-head dolls?).  Can’t be sure if it was singer or conductor at fault, but major sync issues going on.  

Polanzani’s tenor is "like buttah" - gorgeous phrasing and legato.  Nice to hear a tenor at the Met that doesn’t sound like he’s taking a shit above a high G.  He and Poplavskaya had some great chemistry, too. 

I’d like to give a shout out to Michelle Trovato, the Violetta in Pineda Lyric’s production.  I'd much rather listen to her than Poplavskaya any day.

Old Zeffirelli production...

New Willy Decker production...

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Cancer victim and now terrorist bomb survivor?  Laura Linney can't catch a break.  Someone book her a guest appearance on Glee, stat!  I love Laura Linney, but could someone cast her as something other than sarcastic, intense, brainy and/or oppressed?  Give the girl a break.  I mean, she’s expectedly brilliant in Time Stands Still, but between this and The Big C, she'll need some couch time herself with a good therapist.   

I didn’t expect anything less than brilliance from the remainder of the cast, but I was particularly impressed by Christina Ricci as the ditzy, young trophy wife.  Wednesday Addams is all grown-up and now a Brooklyn hipster.  Playing against her brooding, Indie-film persona, her Mandy is unexpectedly funny and endearing. 

I'm glad I caught this over the weekend since it's closing later this month.  I'm sure it will be clogging up regional theatre stages in the coming seasons given the small cast and the unit set.  My guess - look for a movie adaptation within the next five years.  This is ripe for expansion and would be serious Oscar bait given the political subject matter.  No doubt it will be recast with Julia Roberts (Linney role), Clive Owen (D'Arcy James role), Harrison Ford (Bogosian role) and Taylor Swift (Ricci role).  Sad.