DALLAS – James Valenti, opera’s answer to George Clooney, heads an all-star cast in The Dallas Opera’s presentation of Giuseppe Verdi’s tender and bittersweet romance, “La Traviata,” opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 13, at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in downtown Dallas.
Valenti will sing the role of the love-struck Alfredo Germont, a far cry from his last character on the Dallas stage, the roguish Duke from “Rigoletto.”
Marilee Vergati of Dallas Examiner applauded Valenti’s callous Duke as “a believable scoundrel as exemplified in the famous song ‘La donna é mobile.’ (Another) brilliant moment during the Dallas Opera’s production is the quartetto di Rigoletto, where a brokenhearted Gilda sees the true nature of the Duke as he attempts to seduce Maddalena.”
Starring with Valenti is Greek soprano Myrtò Papatanasiu in her American opera debut as the French courtesan, Violetta Valery.
Miss Papatanasiu’s recent engagements have included Nedda in “Pagliacci” at Zurich’s Opernhaus, Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni” at the Vienna State Opera and the title role in Handel’s “Alcina” with the Stuttgart State Theater in Germany.
Making his Dallas Opera debut is celebrated French baritone Laurent Naouri as Giorgio Germont. Concertonet.com’s Paul Wooley commented on Naouri’s performance of Germont in an earlier production at Santa Fe Opera: “The Violetta-Germont scene showed Naouri at his best. . . . [T]his Germont didn’t bellow or bluster to get his way, but instead used lush, warm tones to create the aura of a weakened man in utter desperation. His elegant ‘Di Provenza’ was one of the highlights of the night, as Naouri pleaded with his son using careful diminuendi at the end of nearly every phrase.”
Mr. Naouri’s recent engagements include the role of Goulaud in “Pelleas et Melisande” at Madrid’s Teatro Real, Sharpless in “Madama Butterfly” at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and the multiple roles of Lindorf/Coppelius/Miracle/Dapertutto in “Les contes d’Hoffmann” at La Scala in Milan.
“This is a remarkably beautiful production,” explains Dallas Opera Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, “created by the renowned team of designer Allen Charles Klein and director Bliss Hebert, and I have wanted to bring it to Dallas since I first saw Allen’s sketches.
“The singers at the heart of this Verdian masterpiece are among the best in the world. In the title role, we are thrilled to present Myrtò Papatanasiu, who has been compared to another Greek soprano famous for her portrayal of Violetta, Maria Callas, who will forever be intimately linked to the Dallas Opera. As her lover Alfredo, the American tenor James Valenti will bring warmth and a passionate yearning to the role, much as he did when he earned the ‘Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award’ for his portrayal of Rodolfo in ‘La bohème.’ Finally, in the pivotal role of Giorgio Germont, opera lovers will experience the unique artistry of Laurent Naouri, one of France’s foremost singers, in his eagerly anticipated Dallas Opera debut.”
All six performances will be conducted by Marco Guidarini in his first appearance at the Dallas Opera in more than a decade. He debuted with the company conducting performances of “Il barbiere di Siviglia,” starring Jennifer Larmore.
Watch upcoming editions of the News-Telegram for Arts Editor Terry Mathews’ interview with Valenti.
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Subsequent performances of “La Traviata” are scheduled for Sunday, April 15 (matinee), Wednesday, April 18, Saturday, April 21, Friday, April 27, and Sunday, April 29 (matinee).
Single tickets start at $25. Season subscriptions start at just $76, FLEX subscriptions (three performances) begin at $75.
All performances, unless otherwise stated, are in the acoustically acclaimed Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
For more information, contact the staff at The Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214-443-1000 or visit them online at www.dallasopera.org.
Principal cast members and events may be subject to change.
All ticket sales are final.
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