[Met Performance] CID:146720
La Traviata {299} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/14/1948.
(Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
January 14, 1948
LA TRAVIATA {299}
Giuseppe Verdi--Francesco Maria Piave
Violetta................Bidú Sayao
Alfredo.................James Melton
Germont.................Frank Valentino
Flora...................Thelma Votipka
Gastone.................Leslie Chabay
Baron Douphol...........George Cehanovsky
Marquis D'Obigny........John Baker
Dr. Grenvil.............Louis D'Angelo
Annina..................Thelma Altman
Dance...................Peggy Smithers
Dance...................Marina Svetlova
Conductor...............Giuseppe Antonicelli
Review of Cecil Smith in Musical America
The poignant singing and acting of Bidu Sayao, in her first appearance as Violetta this season, gave distinction to the fourth "Traviata." From her entrance in the second act to the end of the opera, she sang with unfailingly touching inflection, recapturing the delicate pianissimo tones which had seemed out of her reach in the [first] scene, and, in general, providing an interpretative model by her sensitive projection of every nuance of the text. Her first act, however, was vocally rough, strained and frequently oft pitch. The one basic flaw in her performance was her attempt to deal with the peak dramatic moments more forcefully than her slender voice will allow. Whenever she pushed too hard for a forte she invariably sang flat for several succeeding measures until she had recovered her usual vocal poise. In a few instances her loss of tonal stability gave cause for real alarm about her future if she continues to spend herself so rashly. Yet, despite these troubled incidents, her whole conception of the role, both musically and histrionically, is so consistent and so communicative that Miss Sayao's Violetta must still he counted one of the finest individual performances at the Metropolitan.
As Alfredo, James Melton, also singing his part for the first time this season, could not cope satisfactorily with the delicate passages of the first and last act duets. Where less subtle, full-voice singing was called for he acquitted himself well, giving admirable force and meaning to the recitative and aria which open the second act. Francesco Valentino's characterization of the elder Germont was unusually credible and, in the main, he sang well. Giuseppe Antonicelli showed little of the sensitivity that had marked his reading of "Un Ballo in Maschera," spoiling a good many passages with the rigidity of his beat and allowing the orchestra consistently to cover every one of Miss Sayao's mezza voce tones. The cast also included Thelma Votipka, Thelma Altman, Leslie Chabay, George Cehanovsky, John Baker, Louis D'Angelo and the ballet, headed by Peggy Smithers and Marina Svetlova.