la traviata

The best opera? The most famous opera? La Traviata at Palm Beach Opera

/ antonioyrocinante / 1 Comment
Photocall at the opera
Take a bow
Amazing Kravis center
Delicious Violetta
Palm Beach Opera
I love hearing the orchestra warm up

There are some tunes that you would recognize instantly, even if you have never been to the opera. One of them is the party song at the beginning of La Traviata; it is the subject of viral popup chorales, flash mobs, and opera recitals everywhere.

As children, we did not listen to La Traviata at home. My dad preferred the “epic” operas: Wagner, Aida, Nabucco… He had the vinyl box sets by the big conductors of the time, Karajan, Abbado, and the like.

I had the classical music radio show at the university radio station and would, once in a while, play opera songs. But I became enamored with La Traviata through an 80s film: The Music Teacher, which led me down a wonderful rabbit hole to discover Maria Callas, Renée Fleming, and possibly my favorite Violetta: Kiri Te Kanawa.

At any rate, I again had the chance to see La Traviata at the Palm Beach Opera last week in the Kravis Center with Caitlin, a work colleague and fellow opera fan.

The production was amazing! Gabriella Reyes, in her pro debut, hit it out of the ballpark, despite taking the current liberty of pushing the Sempre libera finale to E flat above high C notwithstanding that Verdi wrote it in high C, she is forgiven for following the trend. Mario Chang from Guatemala did a perfect job as Alfredo, and unexpectedly Michael Chioldi surprised as Alfredo’s dad, Giorgio Germont, totally channeling his best Gattopardo.

Palm Beach Opera was impressive in their attention to detail: the décor, the photocall, even crafting an apropos cocktail, the Violetta, which I must say, was delicious.

So if you get a chance to see La Traviata, do not hesitate to go. You are welcome.

Andrea Bocelli and pay no attention to the opera snobs!

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Contrary to widespread belief, I do not consider myself an opera snob. Yes, I love opera, and I can appreciate some of the technical aspects of the art, but I do not have the ear, nor the training and knowledge to be too critical.

So when my dear friend Arlene invited me to see Andrea Bocelli last week, I embraced the warmth of his voice and the feeling he puts into his singing, without concerning myself too much about his voice wavering on the long high notes as his critics say. Straight from work I picked Arlene up and we drove through the detestable Miami traffic to the venue.

Very astutely, Bocelli played on February 14th to a full ice hockey stadium (the ice had been taken out, to be clear), the FLA Arena outside Miami, home of the Panthers. He sang his signature mix of opera arias: Brindisi from La Traviata, Una furtiva lagrima from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, La donna è mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto, O soave fanciulla from Puccini’s La Boheme  and so on, with the grand finale being the obligatory and wonderful Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot.

Bocelli peppered his concert with his famous pop songs like Time to Say Goodbye and Vivo per lei. He also sang old classics like Somos novios and Bésame mucho. The concert featured many guest artists besides a full orchestra and chorus: a jazz singer, a soprano, a violinist and wonderful dancers, even his wife accompanied him on a song!

All in all, it was a great concert worth listening to, regardless of what the opera snobs say!