The intimacy of the Frank Matcham-designed Richmond Theatre makes it an ideal venue for Verdi’s tragic romance, in which most of the drama plays out among pairings of the three central characters.
In theory this should also help in bringing off the two ‘public’ party scenes, though here the Act I revelry at Violetta’s Paris salon is decidedly wooden. What this production has is a well-matched and vocally impressive leading couple. Anya Szreter, singing Violetta, revels in her rich yet easy-going top end. The role may not call for the greatest agility but there is plenty of high writing, in which Szreter showed an adaptable top end, capable of power and delicacy.
Her Alfredo, Dominic Natoli, is a fine tenor, bright and lyrical, who colours his voice beautifully and wrings full meaning from the words, here sung in English. He achieves this both within individual phrases and between extremes of emotion, such as his rapt declaration of love in the Act I duet, and - after he believes he has been spurned by Violetta - his furious settlement of financial debt to her, which he sees as clearing his honour.
Sadly, Chris Parke - Alfredo’s father Giorgio - though attractive vocally, held little presence onstage, which noticeably lengthened his long scene with Violetta.
Rob Kealey’s staging is straightforward but effective, despite the couple’s country house seeming too sparely furnished to give the impression of living beyond their means. And the orchestra of well-rehearsed young players, under Simon Toyne, may have lacked a little punch in places but they were directed with sensitivity and style, capable of reflecting the emotion on stage.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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