Opera Mouse
One of the giants of the genre hovers around
Michigan Opera Theatre to wind up its 30th season.
a
BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News
iuseppe Verdi has been dead for a centu-
ry; but his spirit still lives at the Detroit
Opera House.
Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) will
focus on the Italian composer for its spring season as
part of a yearlong tribute commemorating the 100th
anniversary of his death (Jan. 27, 1901) at age 87.
His timeless melodies will permeate the opera
house — from a special Viva Verdi! program
Thursday, April 5, through La Traviata (April 21-29)
and Falstaff (May 12-20).
To end the spring season, sponsored by General
Motors, MOT will present The Tales of Hoffman
(June 2-10) by Jewish composer Jacques Offenbach.
The lineup is a fitting climax to MOT's 2000-
2001 season, marking the 30th anniversary of the
company that began as the "Overture to Opera" lec-
ture series by David DiChiera, a former music
teacher, who is now MOT's general director.
DiChiera formed MOT in 1971 and has guided it
to its current status as one of the top opera organiza-
dons in the world.
When La Traviata opens Saturday, April 21, MOT
will hold a special birthday celebration for the fifth
Right: The current
"La Traviata"
production stars soprano
Giusy Devinu as
Violetta, a courtesan
dying of consumption,
and tenor Michael
Didyk as her
lover, Alfredo.
Far right: A scene
from MOT's 1996
production of
"La Traviata," which
has been called the most
personal and intimate
of Verdi's 26 operas.
4N
3/30
2001
72
anniversary of the beautifully renovated Detroit
Opera House, which has become a featured attrac-
tion in downtown's burgeoning theater district.
Before the performance and during intermission,
opera patrons will be able to sample a variety of
cakes from local bakeries.
"It's been quite a year to celebrate," DiChiera said.
"Thirty years of bringing opera to the community,
and we are saluting the life and music of a composer
who was a major force in the history of opera.
"Even 100 years after his death, Verdi continues to
make a profound impact on the musical world. Our
success this year is borne out by the fact that we
have achieved an all-time high of 13,000 season-
ticket subscribers."
MOT's Verdi Festival, sponsored by Ford Motor
Co., opened in December with famed tenor Luciano
Pavarotti singing Aida in concert. That was followed
by a special concert of Verdi's works in January.
When Vida Verdi! comes to the opera house this
Thursday, excerpts from the composer's best-loved
and lesser-known works — including arias, duets,
and choral and orchestral music — will be performed.
World-renowned tenor Marcello Giordani and rising
young soprano Indra Thomas will be featured.
Introduced to Detroit audiences when the opera
house opened in 1996, Giordani has achieved star sta-
tus as a performer and recording artist. He appeared
in Tosca at the opera house last year. Thomas recently
made a critically acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan
Opera in Turandot, and now makes her MOT debut.
The duo will be accompanied by the MOT Orchestra,
directed by Steven Mercurio, and by the MOT Chorus,
headed by chorusmaster Suzanne Mallare Acton.
The performers will offer excerpts from La Forza
del Destino, Macbeth, I Masnadieri, Erani, Il
Trovatore, Luisa Miller, Un Ballo in Maschera, Otello,
Requiem and La Traviata.
Taking the stage next will be the full-scale La
Traviata, which was considered a failure when it
opened in Venice in 1853. Composed during Verdi's
self-described "years in the galleys" — in which he
also composed Rigoletto and Il Trovatore — La
Traviata has been called the most personal and inti-
mate of Verdi's 26 operas. It became popular the
year following its debut after extensive revisions.
The romantic tragedy is based on the play La Dama
aux Camelias (Lady of the Camelias) by Alexander
Dumas and was inspired by Verdi's life in Paris. It cen-
ters on "the fallen woman" who proves to be more vir-
tuous than the polite Parisian society that judges her.
Violetta, a courtesan dying of consumption (what
else?) sacrifices everything — her property, her hap-
piness, her dignity — for an impetuous nobleman
who steals her heart. The ensuing scandalous rela-
tionship causes all kinds of trouble in their families,
ending tragically, of course.
La Traviata stars soprano Giusy Devinu as
Violetta; tenor Michael Didyk as her lover, Alfredo;
and Christopher Robertson as Germont, his father.
Devinu, making her MOT debut, has sung
Violetta in major opera houses and theaters through-
out Europe. Didyk is the leading tenor of the
National Opera of the Ukraine, having made his
debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow as Alfredo
in 1997. Robertson is one of the top young bari-
tones on the opera scene, and has appeared with
many leading opera companies around the world,
including the Met.
Verdi, always considered to be melancholy and serious,
waited until he was 80 to write a successful comedy,
Falstaff It turned out to be his final opera. He couldn't
miss with this libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William
Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives o f zndsor.