Leo McFall / Rezensionen

It was left to Hera Hyesang Park’s charming, no-nonsense Despina to add a little sparkle and spirit. Brightly dismissing the sisters’ credulous faith in their lovers’, and all men’s fidelity, Park was deft and discerning in ‘In uomini, in soldati, sperare fedelta?’. She’s evidently a natural singing actor and – as her neat turns as the doctor and notary confirmed – able to judge the dramatic temperature to a tee. And, after she’d delivered such a perfect masterclass on feminine wiles to the naïve sisters, no wonder this Despina looked somewhat fed-up at the close when, they so swiftly forgot the wise homily of ‘Una donna a quindici anni’ in the hasty amorous re-assembling of the opera’s final moments.

Julie Boulianne is a slyly sensual, ideal Dorabella, and Hera Hyesang Park, as Despina, almost steals the show in a virtuoso turn that is both comedic and slightly sinister, the maid’s inflated ego driving the action only to realise she has been used when amusement veers towards tragedy.

The supporting characters in the parties were splendid, with extreme and provocative behavior helping to set the context. Gastone indulged in rude gestures while Flora represented the more cynical, businesslike side of the system. The usually problematic gypsy and toreadors ballets were brilliant solved, making perfect sense in the context of the party: a parade of fetishes as the onlookers grow ever more aroused.

Mirrors and bright lights in the party scenes contrast with the tranquillity of a country garden in early Act II and the bleak feeling of a cemetery where Violetta digs her own grave in Act III. With designs ranging from fin de siècle Paris to the glitter of modern Las Vegas, Daniel Kramer in his first production as artistic director (his Tristan and Isolde predated that appointment) has deliberately disconnected the story from its customary milieu, adding to the disorientation between Violetta’s demi-monde and high society.