'La traviata' review — Ermonela Jaho leads a sumptuous and resonant production of Verdi's opera

Read our review of La traviata, directed by Richard Eyre, now in performances at the Royal Opera House to 17 February.

Summary

• Richard Eyre's acclaimed production of La traviata returns to the Royal Opera House
• The story centres on celebrated Parisian courtesan Violetta
• Ermonela Jaho is an impressively striking Violetta
• The production is sumptuously designed by Bob Crowley

Now into its fourth decade, Richard Eyre's 1994 production of La traviata is among the most perennially popular opera stagings of modern times. But I for one haven't seen it until now, which no doubt put me in a minority on press night (the 585th performance at the Royal Opera House).

I'd been assured this is a great place to start for those at an early stage of their opera journey, and it's easy to see why. The story, of consumptive courtesan Violetta and her thwarted love affair with young nobleman Alfredo, is about as straightforward as they come, which is just as well because Eyre's production is so sumptuously designed (by Bob Crowley) that it's all too easy to let one's focus regularly drift towards the succession of lavish settings.

Despite its grandiosity, proceedings start simply, the gentle strings of the overture accompanied by grainy photos of courtesans past, which subtly give way to Ermonela Jaho's Violetta, who appears in vignette behind a gauze. She looks contemplative, sullen, and we'll soon discover why.

Initially swept off her feet in her Paris salon by the dashing Alfredo (Giovanni Sala), she’s swiftly put back onto them again by his overbearing father Giorgio (Aleksei Isaev), who turns up in Act II at their country getaway to insist they break up for the sake of family dignity. Violetta stoically complies, leading to a dramatic confrontation back in Paris and final reconciliation with Alfredo (and his now repentant Pa) in Act III, just before her tuberculosis-driven demise.

Verdi's 1853 opera, which is based on "La Dame aux camélias" by Alexandre Dumas fils, is studded with famous tunes, including the rousing drinking song “Brindisi” and the ‘Gypsy chorus’, performed by the vast company on sets that resemble animated oil paintings, and Violetta’s closing aria “Addio, del passato”. All are sung and played beautifully by the ROH orchestra under the dynamic yet sensitive baton of Antonello Manacorda.

Jaho, who returns to the main role having previously played it in 2008 and 2019, is especially striking, with an impressive ability to let the soft high notes float with gravity-defying delicacy. Her duet with Sala during their courtship, “Un dì, felice, eterea”, is the very definition of trilling lovebirds, and she also counterpoints effectively with the fulsome baritone of Isaev in Act II’s “Dite alla giovine”.

But Jaho doesn’t just sing it superbly, she also acts with real conviction. The final scene, in which she must cough and sing in equal measure as she sees out her final minutes in a Parisian room furnished by a vast empty picture frame (a motif continued from Act II), is a haunting climax that she embodies entirely, her final embrace with Alfredo a genuine hairs-on-end moment. Sala and Isaev also impress, and there is some excellent support, including Veena Akama-Makia as the kindly maid Annina, Ellen Pearson’s co-courtesan Flora, and Sam Hird’s love rival Baron Douphol.

Eyre's production may not be the most mould-breaking you’ll see, but it’s lucid and directed with a theatrical eye for detail. It's clear why it has become such a well-loved staple, and the story of La traviata lands with particular resonance in an age of increasing wealth gaps, unstable politics and grinding poverty. Violetta’s decision to bend to societal will and break off her romance may feel in some sense like unnecessary self-sacrifice, but there’s also unusual heroism in her honest attempt to balance romance and reality.

La traviata is at the Royal Opera House to 17 February. Book La traviata tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: La traviata (Photos by Pamela Raith)