opera notebook
some operas I have seen on videoGiuseppe Verdi, La Traviata (1853)
libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
Opéra National de Paris, Palais Garnier, 2019
Libiamo, ne' lieti calici
- Conductor: Michele Mariotti
- Director: Simon Stone
- Set Designer: Bob Cousins
- Violetta: Pretty Yende
- Alfredo: Benjamin Bernheim
- Germont: Jean‑François Lapointe
Sempre libera
This Traviata is full of odd little touches, some of which are charming (Violetta getting a kebab as she texts Alfredo during "Sempre Libera") and some of which are just distracting (Violetta discovered milking a cow during Alfredo's "O mio rimorso"). The costumes are wear-what-you-got modern dress, and the continual background motif is that the characters live their lives on their phones and on social media – which is consistent enough but often distracting.