Franco Martorana and Christine Steyer sing arias from La Boheme
at an earlier Operatic performance in Oak Park.
© Oak Park Journal photo
When
La
Traviata first opened to the public in Venice, the
date
was
March 6, 1853, and it was a flop with the critics of
the
day and the public as well. There were two major
objections
noted, one, that Violetta was so
young and strong
and then perish of consumption and two, that the people
in
the
Opera were dressed in contemporary (for
the day of
1853)
clothes-
no one wore modern
clothes in an Opera!!
Now
La
Traviata is one of the more popular Operas in the world
and
perhaps is making its debut in Oak Park, with this bold
production. The
songs will all be sung in the original Italian and instead of using
projected subtitles, as the custom has become, the scenes will be
narrated and set
by this productions writings. The narration will be performed by
the writer
of the notes and the talented barritone Paul
Geiger. Mr. Geiger's voice is powerful and his vocal quality
charming. His casting as the father of
Alfredo is perfect.
Christine Steyer, as Violetta, Franco Martorana, as Alfredo,
with Paul Geiger as Giorgio Germont behind.
© Oak Park Journal
photo
are a close second. She has helped illustrate books and executed some
wonderful paintings while singing for the joy of countless admirers. This
is a difficult role for a soprano to perform, as Verdi calls for a coloratura
soprano with elaborate embellishments - and Christine Steyer hits
the mark.
The costumes for this production are at the hands of one of the top creators
in North America, Lyric Opera's Kathy Rubel.
The
story
is heart felt, bawdy, tragic, and peppered with gorgeous
arias. Franco Martorana (as Alfredo) was wonderful in earlier
performances in Oak Park and his gift as a seasoned tenor is gracing
this upcoming performance.
Christine
Steyer and Franco Martorana salute, as
Violetta and Alfredo
embrace love and song (and this is
not even dress rehearsal yet).
© Oak Park Journal
photo
Paul Geiger, as
Giorgio Germont pleads with Christine
Steyer,
as Violetta, to leave his son alone-for his own good.
© Oak Park Journal
photo
Alfredo
the
lover,
nemesis, and lover again of Violetta illustrates the
fickle lust of humans and the far reaching grasp of true love, all with
the help of Verdi. His father played
by Paul Geiger (Giorgio Germont)
is strong and powerful
in his sung voice, yet soft and caressing in his
libretto of
forgiveness. This Opera was produced 8 years
after the
death
of the woman who gave life to this tale of loss.
The
connection
to reality in this story is found now in the cemetery
of Montmartre (France). Located below the Sacred Heart
(Sacre
Coeur),
a Church colored in white, is the grave of a young
woman who died on
2nd of February in 1846, her name
was Marie Duplessis and she died
less than a month after
her 22nd birthday.
The
young
Duplessis is the woman that "La Traviata" is based
upon.
She had many lovers, but two of the more famous
men captured by her
beauty and charms were the
well
known writer Alexandre Dumas the
younger and the legendary composer
Franz Liszt.
by some of the top Opera talent in this region and our time. The
rehearsal before blocking, staging, or dress was a thrill to witness, the
show should prove a milestone for Oak Park. Get your tickets and
tell your friends..........
Order your tickets today (773) 445-6324. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students/seniors. For more information on the production, go to www.village-players.org.
Franco Martorana reflecting on an aria, during a moments respite.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Oak Park Residents Produce and Star in a Unique New Production of the Opera "La Traviata" at Village Players Theater
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi will be performed on Friday, May 26th at 8:00 pm and Sunday, May 28th at 3:00 pm at Village Players Theater, 1010 W. Madison, Oak Park, IL. This new production stars soprano Christine Steyer in the title role as Violetta, tenor Franco Martorana as Alfredo and baritone Paul Geiger as Germont. Their credits include roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Des Moines Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Theater of Humbach, Germany and Chicago Opera Theater.
La Traviata is loosely based on the life of the famous courtesan, Marie du Plessis, with whom the author of the original novel, Alexandre Dumas fils (son of the
author of The Three Muskateers and The Count of Monte Cristo) had an affair. It is a timeless story of love, misjudgment, self-sacrifice and ultimately, death. The heroine, Violetta, a Parisian courtesan, gives up her love for a Alfredo at the request of his conservative father, Germont, who insists that their family will be ruined by any association with her. She then dies of consumption (tuberculosis).
The story has been a sensation ever since it premiered as a novel in 1847. The play, which came out in 1852 was a favorite of great actresses ever since and
was said to have made Sarah Bernhardt a millionaire. It has been made into
many motion pictures most notably the 1936 Camille with Greta Garbo. (A more recent variation of the story is the Academy Award winning Moulin Rouge.) The operatic version, La Traviata, or “The Fallen Woman” based on the play, has
been a mainstay of the repertoire for over 150 years and has been tackled by ever leading soprano.
Oak Park resident Christine Steyer will be singing the role of Violetta, “Soprano Christine Steyer not only has the vocal technique to handle the great demands of this role, but completely portrays the complexities of this sympathetic heroine.”
She has been turning heads of late, winning the top prize at the recent National Opera Association Competition. Career highlights include roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago in Street Scene, Cavalleria Rusticana, Sweeney Todd, Cunning Little Vixen and Manon Lescaut. a WFMT Live from Studio One broadcast, recitals at the Chicago Cultural Center and in Modena, Italy, and a benefit concert with Sam Ramey. This summer she will be singing at the AIMS festival in Graz, Austria. Trained first as a painter, this project, which Ms. Steyer has also produced and designed, has allowed her to go back to her first love, the visual arts.
Oak Park resident Paul Geiger helped to created this unique production. In addition to singing the role of Germont, Mr. Geiger also will tell the story of
Verdi’s tragic heroine from Germont’s point of view in a series of narrations interwoven into the opera. He has constructed these narrations from both the
novel and the play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils as well as numerous references to the historical character on whom the story is based.
With Chicago Opera Theater, Mr. Geiger’s singing credits include the title roles
in Marriage of Figaro and Turk in Italy, Belcore in Elixir of Love, Mustafa in Italian Girl in Algiers and Plunkett in Martha. He has also appeared in several seasons
at Des Moines Metro Opera singing Olin Blitch in Susannah, the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffman and the title role in Sweeney Todd. Director Dr. Robert Larson said “He has the uncanny ability to completely inhabit any character he plays”.
In the role of Violetta’s lover Alfredo, is Beverly resident Franco Martorana.
He has recently performed Lt. Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Alfredo in La Traviata and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana in Hambach, Germany. Mr. Martorana has made a specialty of the songs of Francesco Paulo Tosti. In July of 2003, he studied in Poggio Renatico with Ubaldo Gardini, the renowned opera coach, who said that his interpretation of these songs was on a level with that of Bergonzi and Di Stefano. Mr. Martorana is also a member of the acclaimed “The Other Three Tenors”.
Franco Martorana
© Oak Park Journal photo
Hyde Park resident Eugenia Cheng will be the pianist for this production.
She holds three degrees from the University of Cambridge, was awarded the
Sheila Mossman Memorial Award from the Royal Schools of Music and was the first ever recipient of the Brighton and Hove Arts Council Award for the Musician of the Year. In Chicago she has performed Lieder with tenor Nicholas Harkness
in the Noontime Recital Series at the University of Chicago, the Salon Series at the Tower Club and the Maxwell Recital Series. Recently Ms. Cheng performed Schubert’s Schwanengesang and Winterreise at PianoForte’s Chicago’s Schubertiade, and has given recitals for the Auxiliary Board Chapter of the Lyric Opera. She is a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Chicago.
In addition to great singing, this production of La Traviata will have beautiful costumes executed by Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Kathy Rubel. This production is sung in the original Italian, with a narration and translation in English. It runs 2 hrs 20 minutes with intermission. There are only 2 performances and seating is limited. Order your tickets today (773) 445-6324. Tickets are $25 and $20 for stu/sen. For more information on the production, go to www.village-players.org.
© Oak Park Journal
published by Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
STARSHIP SUBS, Soups, Catering, and more...