BWW Reviews: LA TRAVIATA, King's Head Theatre, November 16 2013

Alfredo loves Violetta, but Violetta is with the Baron - for convenience as much as love. The shy Alfredo, after a rousing drinking song, begins to impress her with a love long nurtured that even the cynical Violetta comes to believe is real. Sensing her chance for lifelong happiness has come at last, Violetta leaves the Baron and sets up house with Alfredo, leaving her dubious past behind her. But Alfredo's father - in private content to consort with Violetta's good time girlfriends - has an election to win and a daughter to match advantageously. He intervenes to protect his public image - and it doesn't end well.

Robin Norton-Hale's adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata (at the King's Head Theatre until 30 November) sticks to OperaUpClose's established formula of paring back grand operas for a tiny stage and limited instrumentation, setting the action in a very recognisable milieu and using an English libretto. It has worked spectacularly well in the past, but in this case, the production doesn't quite fly as it should. The singing - as usual - is top drawer: David Durham's scheming politician is a brooding presence whose late conversion to the primacy of love over pragmatism is as cynical as Verdi intended; Lawrence Olsworth-Peter's Alfredo convinces as a lovelorn pawn in his father's game; and Louisa Tee's Violetta showed the hard edge of the courtesan with the Baron, but softens as real love (and TB) consumes her.

Apart from the grimness of the subject matter - which is hardly unique in opera - sapping us with its tragedy, some of the energy of OperaUpClose's previous work is lost a little on a set that crowds the actors, requiring them to be too static too often (in Pagliacci and Ballo, also at this venue, the actors were so up close, they with with us in the stalls). It was also - and this needs saying, as audience members may want to prepare a little - very hot in the, by now customary, full house.

The company's innovative approach still succeeds, and, even if some of the wow factor has slid away on staging decisions that make for a more upmarket feel but a less visceral experience, La Traviata is wonderful introduction to opera - down-to-earth, unintimidating and accessible. And, as usual with this venue, once you've tried it, you'll want to come again. Just bring a small bottle of water!

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