Hongni Wu / Anmeldelser

If it's not broke, don't fix it!" Most clichés gain their status through being true, but that one is honoured in the breach as often as in its application, the desire to sell something new (even if it isn't really) as addictive to the vendor as it is to the buyer. Not always though. "25 years of Richard Eyre's La Traviata" is emblazoned (in gold, no less) on the cast list and the programme compiles a Who's Who of opera stars who have sung the roles in that quarter century - it was staged here as recently as January after all! So you've every right to expect something good, something slick, something that can fill hundreds of seats on wet Tuesday night a week before Christmas. And that's what you get.

Apart from Oropesa’s Violetta, the superb tenor Liparit Avetisyan gives a convincing performance as the passionate Alfredo, a role that is rarely achieved in operatic productions. The German baritone Christian Gerhaher in the role of Giorgio Germont, the man responsible for the break-up, also offers an impressive performance. The entire leading cast as well as the rest of the cast secured the narrative’s realism that is so brilliantly embedded in its musical fabric, which translates on stage in a manner that even those not musically trained, gain a satisfying musical and dramatic experience. The stamp of the director of this revival, Pedro Ruibeiro, is much in evidence. The dramatic performance, highlighting the conflict between father-son, the shift in Germont’s attitude towards Violetta, the ‘saintly courtesan’, is made clear in their first encounter in Act II. His hard tone and demeanour towards this fallen reveal early signs of softening and gestures of respect. The social norms layered with hypocrisy are superbly probed musically and dramatically in that first encounter between the two. The dramatic tension is given momentary relief by the colourful and beautifully performed gypsy’s singing dancing and the matadors. They lighten up the atmosphere before the mood darkens.The evening, in its entirety, can be summed up as memorable

This production is by the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists, a programme that supports the development of young professional artists. It’s directed by Noa Naamat and Edmund Whitehead conducts the Southbank Sinfonia. The performance opens on a dimly lit stage. The set is minimal – just two curved staircases and a rotating platform. We’re confronted with the dying Minotaur and a four-strong chorus setting the scene. The Minotaur maintains a brooding, malevolent presence throughout. Chinese mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu is excellent as Phaedra. Her darkly sensual voice is perfect for the role and her fine acting conveys the character’s rage and desire for revenge. She dominates whenever she is on stage. Wu brings power and agency to the role. Phaedra may be a pawn in Aphrodite’s scheming, but she’s no victim. This contrasts with New Zealand tenor Filipe Manu’s Hippolyt, who is touchingly innocent and somewhat at the mercy of the three women in his life. American countertenor Patrick Terry adds a welcome light touch of humour to his Artemis in Act Two’s resurrection scene.

Complementing this score, both rich and compact, is the showtime set by takis and simply glamorous costumes, sapphire blue in the first half, fiery orange in the aftermath. In the title role, as the woman taken over by an obsessive and destructive infatuation with her stepson Hippolytus is the vocally and physically agile Chinese-born mezzo- soprano Hongni Wu. The New Zealander-Tongan tenor Filipe Manu as the object of her unfortunate desires is already impressive, The Southbank Sinfonia is one of London's niftiest orchestras, and a perfect fit for this sometimes jazzy, sometimes filmic, always kaleidoscopic score, conductor Edmund Whitehead impressively spinning all these plates at once. Jette Parker Young Artist Noa Naamat has that rare quality among opera directors today: she knows that less is more, and never meddles when the music, libretto, lighting designer (Lee Curran) and artists are getting on with their job. That restraint bodes very well for the flourishing of other works on her watch. Lots to look forward to from the Jette Parker alumni, in short. Catch this remarkable work, and you will see what I mean.