ASMIK GRIGORIAN as Violetta Valery at Lithuanian National Opera, Vilnius 31.12.2009

That the management of the Lithuanian National Opera, general director Gintautas Kevisas, let the soprano Asmik Grigorian sing Violetta in La Traviata at the New Years evening performance 2009, was a lack of respect towards the elegantly dressed audience paying high prices. Everybody who heard her first act including the famous arias starting with “E Strano” could hear that she is not capable of singing these two difficult arias as she don’t have the quality, she don’t have the coloratura demanded here and not the education to manage it, and she was lacking of the highest tunes, and tried to cheat to make it sound right. These two arias were not well enough prepared and she deserved the BOOHs from the audience. The composer Giuseppe Verdi would have been twisting in his grave if he has heard it. A gala performance at extra very high prices for the tickets, at New Years evening, shall present the best singers of the house. If they don’t have any good singers, they need to invite someone from outside to do it well. Nothing else is accepted.

As always the choir at the Lithuanian National Opera is good, with a special compliment to the male choir. Chorus master is Ceslovas Radziunas. The statists and dancers was functioning well in the whole picture.

The new music director of the house Robertas Servenikas did a good job, sometimes a bit too fast in the accompaniment of the arias, he could have been giving a second more time some places which would have given for exemple Dainius Stumbras even better possibilities to let his sound grove even more beautiful. Robertas Servenikas should, as musical director, have said NO to let Asmik Grigorian sing Violetta Valery. That is his duty, and a part of his job, to do so. He is responsible for the musical quality.

To let the backstage orchestra being played on tape with the waiting hall sound they have given it was ok, but not correct.

The light made by the lightning designer Scott Zielinski in close cooperation with the video design by Leigh Haas was of outstanding quality, extraordinary well following the musical aspects deliciously, and with some well coordinated delicious details
. I liked this Disco version of La Traviata, the scenography by Walt Spangler was very well functioning and gave great possibilities for the beautiful light design by Scott Zielinski who used all the possibilities brilliantly, a first class cooperation between set designer Walt Spangler, light designer Scott Zielinski and the very beautiful video design by Leigh Haas. The costumes by Elisabeth Caitlin Ward, was great coordinated in to the entire disco design of this performance and gave a good visual look, even that the female party dresses were simply made, there were giving the right young idea of a young party. All leaded by the responsible director of regi and choreography Chen Shi-Zheng, a good well coordinated job. However the production doesn’t really tell the original history of Violetta as a high class prostitute, but in this case it was not important. As a disco production it functioned well

.

However, as the opera house in Vilnius now are having three contemporary Verdi productions on their repertoire, in addition to La Traviata also The Maskball and Rigoletto. This is the best of these three productions, very much because of the above mentioned details.