We splurged and bought tickets to the new production of La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera (directed by Willy Decker, starring the fiery Marina Poplavskaya and sweet sounding Matthew Polenzani). I had read various articles on the production and knowing about it's now infamous sparse set I was a little apprehensive about what I was going to see. As you know, I have been doing research on Violetta in her time...I had no idea what Violetta in my time would look like.
And, ironically, it was all about time and it worked brilliantly.
The set is sparse: large white walls with a dark screen behind it, illuminating dark colors or wallpaper-like imagery. The entire chorus and Flora, Violetta's friend, are dressed like men (suits and short hair and all). There are maybe 3 costume "transformations" for Violetta: a fantastic red party dress, a colorful robe, and a pale dirty sheath. This was not the beloved lush (old and worn out) set of last year...or 20 years ago! This was a different kind of Met and I loved it!
The sparseness was symbolic towards her emotional world, illustrating how little she has in life other then men. When she is with Alfredo in the country house- the various sofas introduced in ACT 1 are covered in vivacious flower drapes, illustrating that her new life is just a cover up from her old one and that her old life is only one slip away. Then, the final act has her just lying on the floor and awaiting death. Needless to say, it was very powerful.
However, the most captivating element of this new production was the introduction of one character and the development of a lesser one. The former is a giant clock- ticking away to symbolize her imminent death and allowing the audience to see her relationship with it. She does this by stopping the hands of the clock, or covering it up. However, most importantly, this new character allows the singer to direct her emotions to something/someone else on stage. This device is even more profound with the development of the Doctor's character. Traditionally, he is introduced in the 3rd ACT and has a few lines. In Decker's production, he is on the stage 30 minutes before the opera even begins, silently watching Violetta and Violetta commenting to him with the direction of her voice or angry glances or embraces, for the duration of the entire opera. These new dimensions added a new tension to the opera. For example, as she relents to Mr. Germont's request and agrees to leave Alfredo, she looks at the doctor/Death and sings that her time is coming to an end anyway. This adds a whole new layer of intensity to the drama. With jealousy, I would also think that this is more interesting for the actors. Instead of blaming "god" or "fate" and looking "wherever", they now have a very direct object in which to communicate their hatred, frustration and final release.
Moreover, what I, Courtenay, took out of this is the importance in telling a story. And it's not a story of 1860s but a story of today: a young woman who made choices that doesn't allow her to live the life she wants, and in this discovery she finds her strength. I only wish that if I ever do perform La Traviata in front of the audience- Mr. Decker will allow me to borrow a few ideas;) (...just kidding!)
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