Arizona Opera saved the best for last.
On Saturday night, before a near-capacity crowd in Tucson Music Hall, the company closed its 2007-08 season with Verdi's "La Traviata," one of the most popular operas ever.
And it did so with an enviable cast, a superb orchestra and an emerging talent in Canadian-American soprano Erin Wall.
Every time Wall, in the lead role of the beautiful courtesan Violetta, sang, the audience applauded.
A few even shouted, "Bravo!"
There was an electric excitement about the night, as if we were witnessing the next Renée Fleming or Anna Netrebko. The 32-year-old Calgary-born singer hit impossibly high notes with clarity and a luxurious tone. Her coloratura runs were inspired.
"La Traviata" is the ultimate tragic love story. After Violetta has waited a lifetime for true love, death cheats her of lasting happiness.
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Arizona Opera's production, conducted by Joel Revzen, was punctuated by impressive performances from the pit and stage. Revzen restrained the orchestra from turning Verdi's lush romantic score into a sobbing mess, producing instead a crisp, fluid reading.
The chorus, which was wonderfully strong throughout, deserved special ovations for its prolonged freeze-framed stillness throughout Alfredo's second act aria to Violetta, sung admirably by tenor Chad Shelton.
Wall's acting chops were just as exquisite as her singing. She was convincing in the role of the beautiful party girl looking for love only to find betrayal and redemption too late to matter. In the Act III dying scene, Wall looked like death warmed over — pale in tone, her hair unkempt and buckled over coughing. We easily bought into the idea that she was racked by consumption — modern-day tuberculosis. Her coughs sounded real, and invited many in the audience to hack along — although it wasn't clear if they were coughing out of sympathy or simply found her cough an excuse to release their own.
There was a collective gasp in Saturday's audience as Wall's Violetta fell into Alfredo's arms and died. In three hours, we had connected with Wall on levels that go beyond merely absorbing her as a character. We absorbed her as a presence.
The powerful baritone Stephen Powell as Alfredo's father was dynamic in his first Arizona Opera appearance since 2004's "Sweeney Todd." He impressed with his ability to project so loudly and clearly at such low range. Let's hope Powell won't wait so long to return.
The simple staging was a blessing and curse. It robbed the production of its majesty, yet it focused our attention in the finale on the unfolding drama of the death scene.
The biggest weakness in Saturday's performance was Canadian soprano Chloé Moore in the role of Flora. Moore struggled to project above the orchestra for most of the night.
Review
Arizona Opera production of Verdi's "La Traviata" Saturday at Tucson Music Hall.
