Reimagined 'La Traviata' Presented by Pacific Symphony

REIMAGINED “LA TRAVIATA” PRESENTED BY PACIFIC SYMPHONY
New Semi-Staged Production Streams from June 5 – July 4

Video clip available to download via: https://bit.ly/3pmGLSv

Orange County, Calif.—June 3, 2021—How do you stage an opera that’s a love story without the characters making any physical contact? That was stage director Robert Neu’s challenge when Carl St.Clair contacted him last winter about collaborating on a production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” that takes into account the complicated covid-19 protocols necessary to perform during this unprecedented time.

Neu explains in his director’s note that he decided to “capitalize on the psychological journey of these three fascinating characters. You will see each character relive his/her tragic past in his/her own mind.”

Music Director Carl St.Clair directs a socially distanced Pacific Symphony and a cast that includes the Mexican-American soprano and “rising star” (Opera News) Cecilia Violetta López as Violetta Valéry; the award-winning American tenor John Riesen as Alfredo Germont; and Metropolitan Opera house favorite, baritone Jeffrey Mattsey as Giorgio Germont. 12 cameras filmed the semi-staged opera in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall stage.

This “La Traviata,” one of the first to be designed and directed specifically with the safety of performers integrated into every element of the production from blocking to filming, will be broadcast online Sat., June 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for 28-day household access. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit PacificSymphony.org/Traviata. This performance is sponsored by Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Virtual Classical Series, and Opera Focus.

Pacific Symphony’s “Opera Vocal Initiative” celebrates its tenth anniversary this season.  It was first inspired by St.Clair’s career as an opera conductor in Europe and also by a desire to fill the hole left by the closure of Opera Pacific. As the former general music director and chief conductor of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle (GNTS) in Weimar, Germany, St.Clair led Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” to great critical acclaim. During his tenure at the Komische Oper Berlin, he led celebrated productions of not only “La Traviata” but also the world premiere of Christian Jost’s “Hamlet” and the heralded production of “Lear” by Aribert Reimann, one of Germany’s most distinguished composers.

During the past decade, Pacific Symphony has presented 10 semi-staged operas. St.Clair comments that “opera is now part of Pacific Symphony’s DNA.” And the Symphony is a gifted and versatile ensemble that has evolved into a sensitive opera orchestra under St.Clair’s masterful leadership.

About the Cast

Cecilia Violetta López (Violetta Valéry)
“López is as compelling a Violetta as I’ve seen. As the consumptive courtesan, who, for the purest of reasons, is compelled to relinquish her true love, only ultimately to die in his arms. López managed to infuse every gesture, even in her most consumptive paroxysm, with suggestive sexuality. Her voice, big and rich over its entire range, is remarkably agile for its size and as focused when she sings quietly as it is when she just lets it go. Her ‘Sempre Libera’ was as convincingly radiant and joyful as her ‘Addio del Passato’ was sad and wistful.”—The Washington Post

 John Riesen (Alfredo Germont)
“John Riesen has opera’s Emotional Boy, Alfredo, firmly in hands. He is desperately in love and his heart is on his sleeve for the entire opera… Riesen is note-perfect and powerful in his solos, an impressive tenor with dramatics to match. He gains power as the performance continues until his icy public confrontation with his lost love at her firend’s soirée.“—Naples Daily News

Jeffrey Mattsey (Giorgio Germont)
“Jeff Mattsey proved a suave, even charming interpreter of the title role, musically secure and with playful intelligence. Nor did the singer shy away from Giovanni’s ugly side.”—The Salt Lake Tribune

Robert Neu (Stage Director)
Known for his highly theatrical and musically sensitive work, Robert Neu has directed over one hundred productions of operas, musicals and plays throughout the country. Neu’s recent productions include "The Magic Flute" and "L’Enfant et les sortileges" for Pacific Symphony, among many others.

About The Opera Vocal Initiative

During the past decade, Pacific Symphony has presented 10 semi-staged operas, along with eight reduced operas specifically for the Saturday Family Series. These presentations have delighted some of Pacific Symphony’s largest audiences and opened major new repertoire to our concertgoers. Pacific Symphony’s opera productions have presented both experienced and emerging guest artists who are singing/acting on stages around the world, as well as strengthening our relationships with our artistic partners – the Pacific Chorale and the Southern California Children’s Chorus.

In 2011-12 season, the Symphony’s opera-vocal initiative offered a “prelude” with two semi-staged performances of “Hansel and Gretel,” adapted for children, as part of the Family Musical Mornings series in early 2012. Later that season, “La Bohème” was presented on the main stage, the Symphony’s first full opera production met with lavish praise from critics and audiences alike. Two of the three performances of the Puccini favorite sold out, confirming there was a strong appetite for opera in Orange County.

For Pacific Symphony, St.Clair has now led “La Bohème” (2012), “Tosca” (2013), “La Traviata” (2014), “Carmen” (2015), “Turandot” (2016), “Aida” (2017), “The Magic Flute” (2018), “Madame Butterfly” (2019), “L’Enfant et Les Sortileges” (2019) and “La Traviata” Reimagined (2021).

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