Swept Away Into a Lavishly Sung ‘Traviata’

Giovanni Agostinucci’s lavish production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” returned to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday for the start of a 10-performance run.

Los Angeles Opera artistic director Placido Domingo was at the podium and will conduct three more times. His leadership is firm, the orchestra plays confidently, and Verdi’s great score unfolds in all its sweep and subtlety.

As when the production was new in 1999, Marta Domingo is the able stage director, keeping the action sensible and the singers moving credibly.

As noted two years ago, the handsome but conventional costuming adheres strictly to the original period of Alexandre Dumas’ novel, but Agostinucci’s sets for Acts 1 and 2 look strangely 20th century--Violetta’s salon like a trendy restaurant on this side of the Atlantic, her country house like an Architectural Digest showcase--while Acts 3 and 4 resemble contrasting, surreal fantasies.

Never mind; the singing and playing keep the observer grounded in Verdi’s world.

The new cast, younger than those remembered from both a 1992 production here and the more recent one, is handsome and competent as well as convincing dramatically.

The new Violetta, Ana Maria Martinez, made a strong impression in her local debut, as Mimi in Puccini’s “La Boheme,” four years ago. As Verdi’s heroine Friday, the soprano from Puerto Rico again showed her considerable vocal accomplishment and emerging, not fully operative, dramatic skills.

Her finest singing and best musical moments came in the final act, in which “Addio del passato” and the death scene were paced intelligently and her tone was full.

Earlier, Martinez’s sound lacked the distinctiveness and bloom of a bona fide Verdi spinto soprano. And she did not consistently dominate the stage with the authority of one born to do so.

On the other hand, the Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon, as slender and youthful as Martinez, brought abundant energy and passion, as well as forceful singing, to the role of Alfredo. He is still young, but his promise is undeniable--and he inhabits the role completely.

Jorge Lagunes portrayed an elder Germont with thorough musicality, if less than a full measure of legato. As a presence, he also fell short of genuine conviction.

Suzanna Guzman made a bubbly, not-yet jaded Flora, Louis Lebherz a sympathetic Dr. Grenvil. The smaller roles were entrusted capably to Jessica Rivera (Annina), Greg Fedderly (Gastone), James Creswell (Baron Douphol) and Pablo Porras (Marquis D’Obigny).

William Vendice’s Los Angeles Opera Chorus sang well and moved smoothly (Vendice conducts six of the performances). The Spanish dancers in Act 3 performed with flair. And the Opera Orchestra played strongly on opening night.

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Verdi’s “La Traviata” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A., will be repeated Tuesday, Sunday and Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, 4, 7, and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sat. at 1 p.m. $30-$165. (213) 365-3500.