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First off, full disclosure. Your humble reporter has more than once been completely smitten, reduced to a pile of dust, by Verdi's "La Traviata," an operatic masterpiece so powerful, so emotionally strenuous it should come with a warning label. Unsuspecting patrons could well end up in a state of delirium, or at the very least an exhausted, tearful mess like yours truly on a few occasions. The unhappy hooker
By Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.comFor clues to the source of the waterworks "Traviata" can induce, and also for tips on how I might channel this potential energy more productively, I consulted soprano Robin Follman, who stars as Violetta, Verdi's great tragic heroine, in Hawaii Opera Theatre's staging of "Traviata," opening tonight. The hope was that she might break the spell of the whole thing by, say, sniffing that this tale of life among the Parisian demimonde was but a loose aggregation of cloying, tear-jerking scenes.
No such luck. Follman's as blown away by the spectacle as any Kleenex-challenged audience member, and as awestruck by the opera's dramatic construction as its music.
"It's a toss-up," she said when challenged to identify her most febrile moment in a music-drama jam-packed with histrionics. What about that part in the second act when Alfredo's father -- that meddling idiot -- persuades her to break up with his son so that the scandals visited on the family can cease? (Word has leaked out that Violetta had once been a courtesan -- i.e., high-class prostitute.)
"I am trying to write Alfredo a letter to say goodbye, but then he comes in and catches me writing the letter," said Follman. "Alfredo's trying to find out why I'm so upset, but I can't really tell him because the letter's to him, and I'm trying to leave and I'm saying 'O, mio Alfredo,' and telling him to love me forever like I love him ..."
Stop, Robin! Stop. (Where's the Kleenex?)
Presented by Hawaii Opera Theatre 'La Traviata'
When: 8 p.m. tonight, 4 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall, 777 Ward Ave.
Cost: $27 to $95; discounts for students
Call: 596-7858
"And then in the third act when I'm very ill and Alfredo comes in ..."
The louse has just figured out that he'd been duped by his old man into believing Violetta was unfaithful, but really she was faithful all the time and only pretended not to be, and now he knows the truth, but hey, it's too late because, guess what, she's dying, you loser.
"It's like he comes in and the first kiss he gives me is the kiss of death. He kisses me, and immediately all my power starts to leave my body." So Alfredo sends for the doctor, "and there's this huge G in the orchestra, a very powerful chord, and I say, 'If your coming here has not saved me alone, how is the doctor going to save me?'"
And furthermore, smart guy, how could you ever think that such a good, sweet, generous former hooker could ever betray you? Satisfied now?
"And then I lash out at God. 'How could you do this to me? I'm so young, I've sacrificed so much, had so much pain.'" Bitter true. How utterly unfair it all is.
And how hard it is to believe that Violetta's not a real person at all, that hers is just a made-up morality tale about a free-spirited consumptive who finally pays the price for a misspent youth. It all seems so real, kind of like a 19th century Vanessa Williams story (if Williams' tale had ended after they forced her to return the Miss America crown once those nude photos came out.)
But of course Williams' life had a fourth act, while Violetta had to settle for three. And we in the tear-stained audience have to settle for one of the strongest, most moving death scenes in all of opera, a hauntingly beautiful hymn of resignation ("Addio del passato") and a scintillating glimmer of hope before the end comes, the curtain falls, and we all try to pick up the pieces and move on. But if there's any consolation in all this, it's that Follman's transition to the real world is no easier.
"All of a sudden at this climactic point, she stops and says 'è strano -- it's so strange, the pain is gone.'" Flooded with sudden optimism, Violetta climbs atop her chaise, her voice crying, "O gioia!"
"And then she dies," said Follman. "It's an amazing moment. Every time I get there all the blood leaves my head and I think I'm going to pass out." (Hey, that's just how we feel!) "It's almost like I'm hyperventilating.
"So that last fall to the chaise is real!"
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