THIS year marks the bicentenary of Verdi's birth, and Edinburgh Grand Opera is clearly keen to be part of the celebrations in presenting La Traviata – one of the Italian master's most enduringly popular works.
Their choice of the King's Theatre as venue provided a suitably plush setting, but the brutally dry acoustic caused difficulties from the outset.
Many of the singers struggled to project their voices, particularly centre-stage, where a curious noise-cancelling "dead-zone" meant they were practically inaudible above the orchestra.
While this absence of a reverberant environment undeniably presented a stiff challenge, it could not fully absolve the performance of its flaws.
In the role of Alfredo, Ralph Strehle failed to create the crucial chemistry with Susan McNaught's Violetta, meaning we could not really appreciate or empathise with the tragedy of their doomed love.
The chorus acquitted themselves energetically enough, but lacked musical confidence, notably in an embarrassing loss of synchronisation between them and the orchestra at the beginning of Act 2 Scene 2 which, in conjunction with a poorly co-ordinated dance sequence, rather undermined the potential impact of the opera's remaining action.
Despite all this, the production was almost completely redeemed by McNaught's superbly resolute and sustained portrayal, masterfully defying the dead acoustic and wringing every drop of emotion from her role.
Her solo scenes, and those with the excellent Rhys Jenkins as Giorgio (Alfredo's father), were genuinely moving – but the two of them could not quite make up for the overall paucity of support and dramatic focus elsewhere.
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