The San Carlo opera season in Naples closed with the “opera” par excellence, a title loved by the public all over the world, in a solid performance, apt for audiences who prefer a traditional, intimate staging of the most often performed of all operatic works. La traviata tells the well-known story of Violetta Valery, a Parisian courtesan doomed to die of tuberculosis, who falls in love with a young passionate but immature lover, is unjustly accused and despised by him because of his father’s intrigues, and eventually regains his love just before passing away.
In this frequently revived production, director Lorenzo Amato perfectly captured the tragedy, as the public’s emotions are aroused every time. Amato’s staging idea was convincing once again, and the singing and acting were of good quality. It is essentially a traditional staging set in the 19th century, where the director indulges Verdi’s condemnation of the hollow society grounded on hypocrisy and mind-numbing pleasure, and to this end accentuates the contrast between the party scenes and the heart-breaking love and despair duets.
Ezio Frigerio’s sets are rather unreal and minimalist, with raindrops falling down a transparent backdrop. Props are down to the bone, the focus firmly on the characters and their interactions; Franca Squarciapino designed beautiful and stylish 19th-century costumes.
Mariya Mudryak created a credible portrayal as Violetta, although not as intense and dramatically touching as one could wish in some moments of soulful despair over her adverse fate. She displayed quite a flexible voice, maybe not really strong enough for the role, though, with which she was good at revealing Violetta’s inner turmoil. She could add a natural lyricism to her sound and, in the final act, she was strikingly torn between hope and despair. A peak of intensity was reached in her "Amami, Alfredo!", sung with poignant pathos.