[Met Performance] CID:146720



La Traviata
Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, January 14, 1948




La Traviata (299)
Giuseppe Verdi | Francesco Maria Piave
Violetta
Bidú Sayão

Alfredo
James Melton

Germont
Frank Valentino

Flora
Thelma Votipka

Gastone
Leslie Chabay

Baron Douphol
George Cehanovsky

Marquis D'Obigny
John Baker

Dr. Grenvil
Louis D'Angelo

Annina
Thelma Altman

Dance
Peggy Smithers

Dance
Marina Svetlova


Conductor
Giuseppe Antonicelli







Review 1:

Review of Cecil Smith in Musical America

The poignant singing and acting of Bidu Sayao, in her first appearance as Violetta this season, gave distinction to the fourth "Traviata." From her entrance in the second act to the end of the opera, she sang with unfailingly touching inflection, recapturing the delicate pianissimo tones which had seemed out of her reach in the [first] scene, and, in general, providing an interpretative model by her sensitive projection of every nuance of the text. Her first act, however, was vocally rough, strained and frequently oft pitch. The one basic flaw in her performance was her attempt to deal with the peak dramatic moments more forcefully than her slender voice will allow. Whenever she pushed too hard for a forte she invariably sang flat for several succeeding measures until she had recovered her usual vocal poise. In a few instances her loss of tonal stability gave cause for real alarm about her future if she continues to spend herself so rashly. Yet, despite these troubled incidents, her whole conception of the role, both musically and histrionically, is so consistent and so communicative that Miss Sayao's Violetta must still he counted one of the finest individual performances at the Metropolitan.

As Alfredo, James Melton, also singing his part for the first time this season, could not cope satisfactorily with the delicate passages of the first and last act duets. Where less subtle, full-voice singing was called for he acquitted himself well, giving admirable force and meaning to the recitative and aria which open the second act. Francesco Valentino's characterization of the elder Germont was unusually credible and, in the main, he sang well. Giuseppe Antonicelli showed little of the sensitivity that had marked his reading of "Un Ballo in Maschera," spoiling a good many passages with the rigidity of his beat and allowing the orchestra consistently to cover every one of Miss Sayao's mezza voce tones. The cast also included Thelma Votipka, Thelma Altman, Leslie Chabay, George Cehanovsky, John Baker, Louis D'Angelo and the ballet, headed by Peggy Smithers and Marina Svetlova.



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