La Traviata: Mysterious, Unknowable

On Saturday October 25^th, 2008, I attended Opera Memphis’ performance of Verdi’s classic, La Traviata at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Memphis. I was particularly excited about the performance because while it was my third time seeing this operatic masterpiece, it was my first time hearing it sung in Italian. Back home in St. Louis operas are done in English so it was a real treat to hear the lovely, lilting phrases and melodious arias in their mother tongue. In terms of casting, Opera Memphis brought in Kallen Esperian, no doubt to boost ticket sales because of her famous name due to her notable talen in her hay day. I have to say, I prefer Pamela Armstrong’s rendition of Violeta (as seen in both the 2001 and 2007 versions of La Traviata, produced by Opera Theatre of St. Louis) because her singing was more powerful and evocative. While Kallen did an ok job, I was less-than impressed. She barely grazed some of the higher notes and her voice was not the big, booming operatic voice—filled with passion and angst—that one would expect from an opera star playing Verdi’s Violeta: especially during her duet with Alfredo in which they sing about the mysterious unknowable qualities of love. I was very impressed, however, with Kirsten Piper-Brown’s performance as Violeta’s maid, Annina. Her voice was rich and much more of an aural presence than Kallen’s. It commanded my attention and though she sang little, it was enough to leave a lasting impression. So, La Traviata was not the best I’ve seen from Opera Memphis, but I’m not going to let that discourage me from seeing other shows—and you shouldn’t either! The next operas on deck for the 2008-2009 season are Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha and Gounod’s Faust.

- Brigid Hannon