REVIEW: WNO Ainadamar - Fountain of Tears & La traviata at Mayflower Theatre

The Welsh National Opera was back at the Mayflower with their instalment of ‘Ainadamar’ by Osvaldo Golijov. This opera has a perfect balance of everything; music, dance and theatre - all coming together hand in hand to tell this powerfully poignant story. With full disclosure, I must say that this is actually my very first opera, and from what I saw tonight I can also say that it is hopefully my first of many. ‘Ainadamar’, which is Arabic for ‘Fountain of Tears’, is a two-time Grammy winning opera which uses a mixture of Spanish singing, flamenco dancing and poetic outbursts.

With this being my first opera, I was quite worried that the story would get lost and I would struggle to understand what was going on. This was absolutely not the case. The shifting of the music and production, really helps guide you through the story without being left behind. Director, ‘Deborah Colker’, has done a fantastic job by working with the whole company to make this so smooth.

‘Ainadamar’ (‘Fountain of Tears’), is the ancient well near Granada where Federico García Lorca (Spanish poet and playwright) was brutally executed during the Spanish civil war in 1936, after being branded as a ‘homosexual socialist’. This opera takes us through Lorca’s life via a flashback of memories from his muse, Margarita Xirgu, an actress. Xirgu now in her final moments, is wanting to pass on the hopes and passion of her generation onto one of her students, Nuria. Throughout the story, there’s lots of different tones that are portrayed - and the opera is non linear, meaning that the time frames do jump around. This again, could be quite confusing but the way WNO have put this piece together makes it so you can follow along with ease.

One thing I really liked was how the opera just continued to flow. The live orchestra, mixed with the superbly talented cast made the 1 hour and 20 minutes with no interval just fly by. At the end, I heard multiple people all saying, “that definitely didn’t feel like 80 minutes.” Can’t get much higher praise than that, time flies when you’re having fun - job well done! Jacquelina Livieri, who played the role of ‘Margarita Xirgu’, was just exceptional. Her vocals were fantastic and the way that she had the audience there with her on her every word was expertly done. Much the same has to be said about Julieth Lozano Rolong (Nuria). ‘Nuria’ is almost the voice of the audience on stage because she is being told Lorca’s story - just as we are in the audience - and the bond between herself and ‘Xirgu’ comes across so eloquently. Fantastic Job! I think I also need to mention Hanna Hip, who had the role of ‘Federico García Lorca’, as it goes without saying the vocals were flawless, but the way she brought a different edge to the character was so creative. Every single member of the cast brought a big level of energy to that stage - and the tone of the whole opera went with them. Amazing!

I’d also like to add, that with Hanna Hip playing ‘Lorca’ - the 3 main protagonists in the show were all played by females, even when one of their characters was male. This was incredibly refreshing. The majority of the cast was actually female and it seemed like the male figures in the opera were the oppressive authority in the story and the female figures were fighting against this to help remind us, “of the vital role the artist plays in championing freedom in all its forms” - Aidan Lang, General Director of WNO. That was a repeated theme throughout the opera, and a theme that really speaks to musical theatre now as it also did then.

This set was also extremely effective yet so simple. The main bulk of the set was a fringe like curtain in a round with four rectangular tables that would move to show different places/scenes. Every now and then you would have some drop downs of different fringe curtains, or wood like debris which when all put together were fantastic. I thought the way they stacked the tables to create almost a barricade was ingenious. The curtains were weirdly mesmerising. The way they would use light and projections together on the curtains was just beautiful. Also the way the cast would interact with the curtains to show either a ripple effect, a doorway, or pinning it back showing us what was happening inside - just amazing. Something so simple, with such an impact. I also liked how you could still see through the curtain and the projections would be used to help tell certain parts of the story. Designers, Jon Bausor (stage), Paul Keogan (lighting), and Tap Rosner (projection) have all done a brilliant job at intertwining their work to create a literal masterpiece!

When it comes to the music - WOW. It wouldn’t be an opera without a stunning orchestra. I’ve already mentioned how amazing the vocals were from the whole cast, but the accompaniment of WNO’s orchestra made it that much more meaningful. The mixture of classical music with Spanish, Arabic and Jewish influences alongside the rhythms of Cuba and the flamenco were again, a big help in shifting the tempo of the opera and helping the story progress further. I particularly liked when at the start of one the early flashbacks, we see a couple of the musicians on stage playing classical, up tempo, Spanish music with a cajon drum and guitar. At that moment, the music wasn’t a separate entity to the theatre, it was its own specific role that was interacting within the scene. A fine detail that really helped in polishing a complex story.

If you’re new to opera or have never even thought about going to see one, I can absolutely recommend ‘Welsh National Opera’. The production values and cast are superb and from what I thought would be an intimidating night at the theatre, turned out to be another show that I would happily go and watch again. All WNO operas are presented with English surtitles to help you follow the story with even more ease. If you do consider going to see an opera, my top tip would be to do a little bit of research on the general story, just to help yourself understand what is going on. This way when it comes to watching the show, you can sit back and enjoy without worrying too much that you may misunderstand something. WNO tour the UK with multiple different operas/operatic experiences and if they are coming to a theatre near you - I think you’d be silly to miss them.

La traviata

The ‘Welsh National Opera’ were back at Mayflower Theatre but this time with their rendition of ‘La traviata’. This is textbook opera. With music composed by Giuseppe Verdi, the traditional Italian sung opera has musical highlights that are instantly recognisable - whether you’re an opera fan or not. Based on the novel ‘La Dame aux Camélias’ by Alexandre Dumas, ‘La traviata’ takes you on a story of love and pain all through its powerful and beautifully poignant music.

With this being a more traditional opera, it could be perceived that the story would be more difficult to follow unless you were an avid opera expert. In WNO’s case however, this is again completely untrue. The piece has been perfectly crafted to allow for the story line to flow, but also for certain beats to be interpreted however each audience member sees it. The story is very people focussed, so each person may interpret what’s happening slightly differently - but still end up at the same point. Something that both Directors, Sir David McVicar (original director) & Sarah Crisp (current director), have been able to put across through not only the music, but the acting that accompanies it.

‘La traviata’, translating to ‘The Fallen Woman’, is a story that follows Violetta, a woman that has it all at the height of society. But when she falls deeply in love with a penniless poet, Alfredo, she gives up her lavish lifestyle to be with him. To avoid spoilers, Violetta’s struggles are now whether she will be accepted for falling in love, or will she just remain a ‘fallen woman’?

The cast for this opera was insane! Not only in terms of talent, but also in terms of size. Overall there must’ve been about 40 cast members, not even to mention the orchestra yet. The entire company was amazing. The vocals, the dancing, the acting - all superb! As a new singer for WNO, playing the role of ‘Violetta Valéry’ was Stacey Alleaume; and all I can say is WOW! Stacey was out of this world. Her vocals were flawless, the control to be able to sing like that whether she be standing, sitting, lying. Unbelievable. Not only did her voice leave you in a trance, the acting was fantastic, something that can sometimes get overlooked when music is the central point of interest. Her character progression was so compelling, we were with her every step of the way. Also, I’d just like to add how much of a vocal strain it can be to fake cough and then be able to sing. As Aiden Lang (General Director for WNO) said, “Violetta, is one of the pinnacles of the soprano repertoire”, and Stacey absolutely smashed it! A big shout out also needs to be given to David Junghoon Kim, who played the role of ‘Alfredo Germont’, because he too was superb. It’s no surprise again that the singing was faultless, and in particular his acting again was brilliant. I loved the bond that these two characters had on stage. The way you could see every emotion play out in not only their voices but also their actions was sheer perfection. Overall, it was the cast that controlled the tone and emotion of there opera, and they executed that perfectly. By doing that it just meant that the story was more flowing and much easier to follow. Bravo!

The set was exactly as you would imagine for a traditional opera. Simple yet grand. Big curtains that hung in variations of ways to leave certain parts of the stage hidden, accompanied with grand stately furniture. The space was managed very well to be able to split a scene with the pinch of curtain, and change the scene whilst the show continued to play on. Spoiler Alert, but I also loved how the whole floor of the stage was Violetta’s tombstone. Such a clever piece of foreshadowing literally hidden in plain sight. The lighting was also simple, but it didn’t need to be anything more than that. There were a couple of moments where the use of light was quite powerful, singling out a certain moment or pathway. WNO’s incredible orchestra are what really help make everything come together. I’ve already mentioned how impactful the singing was, but everything gets heightened with that orchestra. The most instantly recognisable piece played would’ve been the drinking song, ‘Brindisi’. The vibrancy that was brought to the the theatre when that song was played was mesmerising.

‘La traviata’ is cut up into three acts with two intervals. There’s always the worry that it could’ve begun to drag, but I don’t think it did. The pace of the opera was kept at a constant, with a big thanks to the music. Notably however, after scene one of act two, you could feel the tempo starting to become flat. To regain some of that energy, the beginning of scene two of act two was the dance sequence from the gypsies and the matador. This was such a fun break from the main story and it almost reset the audiences minds temporarily. Choreographers, Andrew George (original) and Sirena Tocco (current), have done really well to add in a little bit of comedic fun within a tragedy. Another key moment that has stuck with me happened right at the beginning of the show before anybody had even started singing. Alfredo is seen walking in all black in front of the curtain to an overlay of music. Spoiler Alert (again), but this is foreshadowing Violetta’s death and is meant to symbolise him walking at her funeral. Such a nice added detail.

WNO’s attention to detail has to be admired. As an ‘opera newbie’ myself, I was worried there would be so much I wouldn’t understand that would just go unmentioned. But Welsh National Opera seem to be trying to make opera as accessible as possible. This rendition of ‘La traviata’ was stunning. A story  with women’s health and social status at its centre is not only rare in opera but also in theatre, and I think the story is as important today as it was when it first debuted. The Welsh National Opera have come to the end of this tour but will be back in the spring with ‘Death in Venice’ and ‘Così fan tutte’. I think everybody should experience an opera at least once, and if it’s with WNO - you could find yourself coming back for more.