Lyric Opera's production of Verdi's La Traviata on Saturday had many good qualities, not least David Jones's positive conducting and Vivian Coates's lucid direction. But it was let down by the inadequate vocal presence of two of the main soloists. Nicola Sharkey is a light lyric soprano who is blessed with both a good sense of line and an easy facility with coloratura. She was dignified in her confrontation with the baritone father in Act two and moving in her death scene at the end. But her blandness and lack of volume prevented her from achieving the dominance the title role demands. Anthony Kearns, her Alfredo, suffered even more from these shortcomings. There were times during the opening scene when his soft singing was almost inaudible. When he opened up the voice there were glimpses of the accomplished tenor we know he can be. But even then there was a lack of conviction in his presentation of the impetuous young lover he was supposed to be. The Argentinean baritone Hector Guedes had no difficulty with audibility. His problem was occasional lack of accord with the conductor over matters of tempo. He partnered Sharkey splendidly in their big duet and he used his dryish tones to convey Germont's dignity throughout. There was excellent support from a team of good comprimarios, headed by John Scott's Gaston and Eugene Armstrong's Duphol, as well as a strong choral input. The orchestra played very well for David Jones, who conducted each of the scenes as a single, long movement. Which is what Verdi intended.
Ensemble 30
National Concert Hall, John Field Room
By Douglas Sealy
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Khachaturian
"Tenebrae" for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Martin O'Leary
"Marchenerzahlungen", two movements - Schumann
Clarinet Trio (Kegelstatt) - Mozart
The long flowing lines of Khachaturian's melodies betray eastern influences - he was an Armenian - and it is this touch of exoticism that is the main attraction of his music. His Clarinet Trio avoids the exaggerations of his ballet, Gayaneh, and the members of Ensemble 30 (John Murphy, clarinet; Sarah Lane, violin and viola; Catriona McElhinney-Grimes, piano) interwove their parts in a delicate web of melancholy that preserved the flavour of Armenian song. Tenebrae, by Martin O'Leary, was written for Ensemble 30 and the programme note relates it to the work and personality of the late Brian Boydell. In spite of that, it does not sound an elegiac note, rather it is a series of brief exclamatory phrases, as if expressing an anger that finds no resolution. The "vehement interpolations" the composer mentions remain more a statement of intent than a fulfilment. The two movements from Schumann's Marchenerzalungen - for Clarinet, Viola and Piano - were full of charm, but of the darker moods that lurk beneath the surface of Schumann's late music there was no sign. Mozart's Clarinet Trio, for the same combination, can also suggest that there are tears behind the cheerfulness and some of this could be sensed in last Friday's performance, even if Ensemble 30 concentrated on the surface.
