Reviews

Verdi's LA TRAVIATA

La Traviata in Escondido, CA
 “On 21 October 2007, The California Center for the Performing Arts in Escondido presented Teatro Lirico D'Europa's production of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata. Teatro Lirico, the only company currently touring the United States with grand opera, performs in theatres from Maine to California and Oregon to Florida. Its fall and winter tours feature popular operas like Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly, La Bohème and Tosca, Gioacchino Rossini's The Barber of Seville and operettas like Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow. Escondido was the second stop on this year's fall tour.
 
The Sunday afternoon performance in California was conducted by Martin Mázik, principal conductor of the National Opera of Slovakia in Bratislava. He led Teatro Lirico's orchestra in a rhythmically astute, full-blooded rendition of this expansive romantic score that brought out the varied musical colorations of Verdi's masterpiece. Martin Otava's unit set was attractive and functional while Valentine Topencharov's costumes established the time and place of the action. Stage direction was by the company's artistic director, Giorgio Lalov who kept the plot flowing with relevant action.
 
The title role of Violetta Valéry was sung by Madeline Bender who has portrayed the role in Santa Fe as well as in Europe. Tall and slim, she looked the part, sang with thrust and acted with a dramatic flair that was particularly effective in the final scene. As Alfredo Germont, the lover who cannot afford her lifestyle, tenor Gabriel Gonzalez sang with sensuous tones and the distinctive dramatic vocal colors that we have come to expect from him. An attractive young man with a robust voice, one could easily understand why Violetta fell in love with him.

Violetta's attractive friend and confidante, Flora Bervoix, was sung with creamy chocolate tones by Gergana Jankova. A commanding Baron Douphol, Hristo Sarafov sang with virile burnished tones. Plamen Dimitrov was a caring Doctor Grenvil and Georgui Dinev created an interesting Gastone. Violetta's perceptive maid, Annina, was the silky toned Tzura Ivanova, while the Marquis d'Obigny was authoritatively portrayed by Vladimir Hristov.”
By Susan Hampton - Music and Vision Daily - www.mvdaily.com
 
TEATRO LIRICO D’EUROPA – LA TRAVIATA
 “Maestro Martin Mazik and his orchestra, guides a vocally full-bodied cast of excellent choral voices, offering strong support to tenor Gabriel Gonzalez (as ALFREDO). Though a bit short in stature, Gabriel Gonzalez is big in vocal poweress, and rises to the occasion even with a tall VIOLETTA. Soprano Madeline Bender is the consummate heroine, grows with the role, and grows in your heart and soul as the tragic victim. With her incredible voice, she shows the comfort of four years she has performed this magical role in LA TRAVIATA. Madeline was recently praised in OPERA NEWS for her ‘glowing, full-bodied lyric soprano’ and ‘haunting timbre’."   
SDTHEATRE.COM – Ron Appel – Oct. 2007

TRAVIATA in Prescott Arizona – Feb. 2008
Hi, Jenny,
 “The show was great! as usual!  I let the audience know that we were trying to bring Aida for next season and they were quite excited.”
Best
Deb McCasland
Director, Major Gifts and Artistic Programming
YC Foundation, Yavapai College
Prescott, AZ

TRAVIATA in CLEARWATER, FL – Feb. 2008
“The performance was wonderful.  I thought each one of the singers was very special.  The soprano was everything you said she would be and more.  The audience absolutely loved her.  Alfredo and the father were especially strong as well. Congratulations and thank you for bringing another strong opera performance to our community.”
Best,
Robert A. Freedman - President and CEO
Ruth Eckerd Hall, Inc

TRAVIATA – Daytona Beach, FL – Feb. 2008
 “Jenny,
Tonight was FABULOUS. Everyone LOVED La Traviata. Thank you so much!!!!!
A triumph!!”
Carolina Anderson
Daytona Beach Symphony Society

“Hi Jenny,
We had a wonderful performance tonight! Your Violetta had an amazing voice, she was a wonderful actress, and was such a beautiful young woman. Everyone was so happy with the entire production. Kleenex and hankies were abundant in the audience, as it was so touching, due largely to "Violetta." We didn't see Giorgio, so please pass the word to him that we are so happy with this production. Thank you all!”
Cordially,
Dallas and Nancy - Daytona Beach Symphony Society

Boston TRAVIATA – Mar. 2008
Where Teatro Lirico D'Europa's, "La Traviata," is concerned there is only one way to describe it: "You look Marvelous"!
Paul Joseph Walkowski - OperaOnline.us

“Sunday afternoon's performance of Verdi's "La Traviata," performed by Teatro Lirico D'Europa, at Emerson's Cutler Majestic in Boston, was one of the company's most moving and flawless productions. It oozed emotion and sentimentality and boasted wonderfully colorful sets, expert use of lighting, sumptuous costumes, a powerhouse cast, and effective and evocative orchestration conducted by Maestro Krassimir Topolov - and this isn't my view alone. During intermission I spoke with a friend who recently retired from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and he observed that in his opinion this performance was "near flawless." And it was.

This was one of those productions that came together and kept rising as the story of Violetta and Alfredo's lives unfolded. Much of the credit has to go to some pretty strong vocal performances by four leads: the gorgeous and vocally gifted soprano Marina Viskvorkina, who sang the role of Violetta, baritone Plamen Dimitrov, who sang the role of Giorgio Germont, the gifted and always dependable baritone Hristo Sarafov, and tenor Gabriel Gonzalez.

The audience loved this performance and for good reason. The stage direction by Giorgio Lalov was right on mark and every technical and visual queue was timed perfectly. A "tip-of-the hat" must also be given to the wonderful chorus of this company. It shone and performed magnificently as did the ballet dancers that performed in each of the two previous weekend shows I attended: "The Merry Widow," and "La Traviata."

I rave when I see a particularly strong performance and this production of "La Traviata" falls into that congratulatory category. As comedian Billy Crystal used to say when he played the actor Fernando Lamas on Saturday Night Live: "You look marvelous." Well, for this production of Verdi's "La Traviata," I say: "You looked Marvelous" Sunday afternoon, keep it up!”

A VIOLETTA TO DIE FOR
Marina Viskvorkina’s Violetta would satisfy the most demanding audience of any great opera house
“Teatro Lirico was back for its second weekend this year, and in Verdi’s LA TRAVIATA, Ukranian soprano Marina Voskvorkina gave an extraordinary performance as the consumptive courtesan Violetta Valery. Viskvorkina’s got just about everything: she’s a voluptuous blonde with a big, creamy voice of pinpoint accuracy, and she can act. She began by depicting a very flirtatious Violetta. Her performance became increasingly inward and moving, conveying real dignity as Violetta confronts Alfredo’s father who wants her to give up his son. But it was in the last act that Viskvorkina ascended to tragic stature. She’s one of the rare Violettas who sings the notes yet still convinces you that she physically failing and feverish. And she is heartbreaking. Her performance would satisfy the most demanding audience of any great opera house.”
Lloyd Schwartz – BOSTON PHOENIX – Mar. 2008

Teatro Lirico d’Europa:  Dramcheva as Violetta.
G P. Padillo – OPERA L – Mar. 2008
“Ice and frostbite were kept at bay for a night as The Teatro Lirico d’Europa bus rolled into Portland last night. The opening moments of this Traviata showed a hearty (and attractively attired) chorus who actually seemed to revel in Verdi’s party music.

Bulgarian beauty Snejana Dramcheva is about the most wand-like Violetta in my experience.  While perhaps not the ideal voice for Violetta, she has plenty of good company, in the Sills-style:  remarkable facility for coloratura, good trills, spot-on intonation and, as importantly, something to say about Verdi’s most beloved heroine. The middle voice (which grew warmer and seemingly larger was expressive and Dramcheva showed off an impressive ability to spin out notes, crescendo and decrescendo “on a dime” and that rarest thing for a small voice in a big role:  to color the text and music with infinite shadings that made her Violetta alive with flesh and blood.  A tendency to move too much (she seemed to bound the entire width of the stage in the blink of an eye) at first seemed manic, but over time seemed a valid decision and actually helped in defining the flightiness and youth of Violetta.  A nice something different.  As predicted, the fireworks of Sempre Libera were capped by a rather spectacular high E flat by the defiant Violetta. Another interesting choice was Dramcheva’s seeming refusal to portray a victim.  Strong-willed and defiant, she was unafraid to hurl out sound (sometimes shouting) in moments where it made good dramatic sense.  The scene with Germont showed a woman proud resisting being victimized, but slowly being crushed under the enormity of the tragedy forced upon her.

Often by Flora’s ball, many Violettas are already crumpled wrecks merely waiting for the money to be thrown, collapse and wither.  Not here: Dramcheva remained spiky, defiant almost dismissive of Douphol and genuinely desperate to save Alfredo’s hide.  This strength would carry over with interesting results in the final scene.  All in all this was a very happy introduction to a singer I look forward to hearing and seeing much more of.

Over several years now I have come to fall in love with the voice of Orin Goranov.  It is a classic Italian sounding tenor from the old school, lean-ish and bright, with all the traits one wants in this type of music:  a tear in the voice, plenty of ping and squillo and a seemingly natural ease of vocal production throughout the range.  In “Un di felice” he and Dramcheva matched each other most amazingly in scaling back the sound, shading the text and music in breathtaking sotto voce (kudos to Maestro Topolov who kept the orchestral balance perfect at this moment).  It was one of the evening’s highlights.

Handsome and lithe, Goranov moves elegantly across the stage and moves with a natural ease.  “De' Miei Bollenti Spiriti" – (taken at too fast a pace) found the tenor sailing with ease through this gorgeous music and pouring out golden-throated sound that earned him an immediate ovation and some hearty calls of bravo.   Another nice touch was during Violetta’s final breaths – when believing she is recovered, Goranov’s Alfredo pulls away from the group, and drops to his knees, hands raised in a prayer of thanks, only to turn around and watch her falling lifeless into the arms of his father and Dr. Grenvil.

Plamen Dimitrov poured on rich, warm sound as Germont. He really came into his own during his admonishment to his son at Flora’s party, where the full ensemble (one of my favorite in all of Verdi) closing the act found everyone, soloists, chorus, orchestra at an absolute peak.

There were other, wonderful touches.  Mezzo Viara Zhelezova, so memorably sultry as Carmen, Rosina and Maddelena, was here a Flora of impressive quality.  (This Flora didn’t (as many tend to) disappear into the crowd, but gave the impression this was Violetta’s equal and an opera or interest and intrigue was just waiting to be written about her!)

The near capacity crowd cheered as the curtain raised on the born-again Dramcheva who excitedly yanked the arms of her costars running full force to the footlights to embrace the applause. Following solo bows, an extended ovation ensued with the gregarious soprano vigorously pulling everyone into a sort of Crack-the-whip spectacle until the final curtain.  A nice buzz continued as we emptied out into the frigid air, all surfaces slick with ice as winter – at least for a time – seemed not to matter anymore.”

Review: Sold Out La Traviata at NJPAC
"The New Jersey Perf. Arts Center is a facility in a diversely populated area where opera is a family affair. Some attendees took advantage of the early curtain and brought their children to this SOLD OUT performance. LA TRAVIATA is a unique opera that needs a singer with true star quality. Ukrainian soprano, Marina Viskvorkina filled the bill to perfection. A slim, attractive blonde who sings at the Prague State Opera and has performed this role at the Vienna State Opera, Viskvorkina has the necessary appearance of fragility for this heroine. Her voice however, is robust and she had the precise coloratura for Act I. She lit up the stage and made the world of the 19th Century courtesan, come alive. Valentine Topencharov designed the effective, practical scenery and the costumes, some of them unusually ornate for a touring production. Alfredo was sung by Russian tenor, Evgeni Akimov who also appears with the Mariinsky Theatre, the Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden. He was a carefree playboy with a rich even voice and sang with warmth and virility. Vladimir Samsonov was a properly bourgeois Germont with ringing top tones. Casting bass Viacheslav Pochapsky of Opera Bolshoi as Dr. Grenville was a true luxury. Conductor Topolov drew a balanced, expansively romantic reading of the score from the Sofia Symphony. At the end of the evening the audience responded with a standing ovation for all the artists involved in this fine performance."
MUSIC AND VISION DAILY - Maria Nockin - March 2006 (www.mvdaily.com)

'Strayed Woman' - High Drama Parisian Story Thrills GSU Crowd!
"UNIVERSITY PARK -- The craftsmanship of Teatro Lirico D'Europa and the flawless conducting of Metodi Matakiev generated enough heat Sunday afternoon inside the Center for the Perf. Arts to temper the wind chill outside. Attendees at Governor's State University 's SOLD OUT matinee were treated to a lush spectacle of 19th century drama that dazzled the ear and eye. Soprano, Melody Alesi (Violetta) delivered a particularly notable performance, soaring in sustained flights in this melodic and romantic opera."
DAILY JOURNAL - Dennis Sullivan - Feb. 2004
(Performance at Center for the Perf. Arts, University Park , IL)

LA TRAVIATA Enthralled Sold-out GSU!
"Governors' State University hit a home run Sunday afternoon with a stunning performance of LA TRAVIATA before an enthusiastic SOLD- OUT house. The return of Teatro Lirico D'Europa can be seen as nothing short of a triumph. It was also an affirmation of the Pasquinelli Family Foundation's support, and the chance it took on bringing the opera to the Southland. Reid's statement "They will be back with LA BOHEME in 2005 received applause even before the curtain went up on the current production. Most impressive was Melody Alesi, who presented the torn personality of Violetta. Violetta's lover, Alfredo, played by John Fowler, sang with conviction and stamina. Valery Ivanov was most convincing as Alfredo's father and his rich baritone filled the hall. Act II brought the opera to a dramatic peak as the sound of the chorus rated first class and the dances by the gypsy princess and matador were fun and enthusiastic. This was a great performance. It's hard to believe that this opera company had just spent 5 days in 5 different cities performing 4 different operas! This critic doesn't know how they keep up their strength and enthusiasm, and can't wait to see them again next year."
THE STAR (Chicago Heights) - D. K. Luksetich - Feb. 2004(Performance at Center for the Arts, University Park , IL)

Verdi Hip to Pop Culture!
"Dubbed "Road Warriors" by OPERA NEWS, Teatro Lirico D'Europa proved itself worthy of its international reputation Friday night at the Leid Center when it performed Verdi's LA TRAVIATA. The show was fantastic. All three lead roles were brilliantly cast and executed."
LAWRENCE JOURNAL WORLD - Emily Criqui - Mar. 2004
(Performance at the Leid Center , Lawrence , KS)

Teatro Lirico Shows No Signs of Fatigue!
"Last night's LA TRAVIATA was the 41st performance of a staggering 52-performance American tour of six different operas that began Jan. 29, 2004 , but there was no lack of energy, spirit and heart. No wonder audiences love this company. Bulgarian soprano, Veselina Vasileva is a tiny beautiful creature with expressively floating hands and eyes that tell the truth. She restores the nearly-forgotten tradition of light voices in the role: she uses her crystalline soprano with feeling and exquisite musical taste. She has adequate virtuosity for the hurdles of the first act but it was later that Vasileva really came into her own. No one wanted her to die. Vytautas Juozapaitis poured out molten streams of baritone sound as the stern, elder Germont. Cesar Hernandez (Alfredo) is a pro who's been around the track, knows what to do, and did it with assurance. The chorus is one of Teatro Lirico's greatest assets."
BOSTON GLOBE - Richard Dyer - Mar. 2004
(Performance at Majestic Theatre - Boston , MA)

"The endearing Teatro Lirico D'Europa was back on a 46-city cross-country tour. What makes this company so worth seeing, year after year, is that its priorities are always right. Opera exists to melt our hearts - and Teatro Lirico D'Europa does just that."
BOSTON PHOENIX - Lloyd Schwartz - April 2004
(Performance at the Majestic Theatre, Boston , MA)