Opera : New Heroine Sparks San Diego ‘La Traviata’

All sorts of sopranos sing, or attempt to sing, Violetta in “La Traviata.” Few can resist the complex lure of Verdi’s tragic, self-sacrificing heroine--the archetypal whore with a heart, and voice, of gold.

Sweet coloraturas find the giddy finale of the first act particularly congenial, though they may court vocal grief when the music requires greater force later on. Singers with heavier, less flexible voices bask in the heroic outbursts, but skim past the florid hurdles. Spinto --e.g., middleweight--sopranos often find to their chagrin that the role exposes the worst of both lyric and dramatic worlds.

Frances Ginsberg, the New York City Opera stalwart who made her debut as Violetta with the San Diego Opera on Saturday, is a spinto. Her voice is bigger, darker and richer than many a popular predecessor in the role, but she applies her generous resources to the multifaceted challenge resourcefully.

True, she cannot get through “Traviata” without taking certain liberties. She smudges the filigree of “Sempre libera,” sometimes takes breaths in odd places, occasionally lunges at climactic high notes. Not everything works. In context, however, it matters little.

Ginsberg moves with an air of abandoned conviction that automatically conveys excitement. She is a compelling singing actress.

She exults in flights of passionate grandeur, yet never slights introspective poise. She inflects the text with telling, subtle accents, yet traces the arching line with climactic breadth.

She doesn’t look particularly consumptive as the ill-fated courtesan. She moves beautifully, however, and cuts an alluring, glamorous figure in David Walker’s elaborate costumes. Although she obviously appreciates the value of the violent gesture, she also savors the contrasting impact of physical repose.

Ginsberg dares take chances. She knows what she is doing, and does it poignantly.

Her Alfredo was Walter MacNeil, son of the celebrated baritone Cornell MacNeil. He is young, reasonably ardent and eminently tasteful. His modest tenor tends toward tightness under pressure, however, and sensuality does not appear to be his forte. He opted wisely, if anticlimactically, for the lower cadence at the end of the single verse of the cabaletta restored on this occasion.

Richard J. Clark, the new Giorgio Germont, was allowed no cabaletta at all. Given his generally stilted vocalism and seemingly stodgy temperament, that may have been just as well. He did win favor, however, for singing the organ-grinder showpiece, “Di Provenza,” softly rather than resorting to the customary bel-canto bark.

Harlan Foss’ stern and dangerous Baron Douphol dominated the uneven supporting cast. Maxine Mahon’s Gypsy-pipsy ballet in the third act seemed fussy, extraneous and silly, as do most “Traviata” ballets.

Edoardo Muller sustained an aura of enlightened routine in the pit.

John Conklin’s extravagant, literal decors, created for San Francisco in 1987, supported the action more effectively here than they had when borrowed for the Opera Pacific production in Costa Mesa last year. The theatrical improvement probably can be attributed to Wolfgang Weber’s carefully focused stage direction and Richard Winkler’s splendidly atmospheric lighting scheme.