Franco Zeffirelli’s Second Traviata Was His 11th Met Opera Production

Summary: Franco Zeffirelli’s second Traviata was his 11th Met Opera production, debuting in the 1998-1999 season, one season after closing his first Traviata.

Jonas Kaufmann made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2005-2006 season as Alfredo, opposite Angela Gheorghiu’s Violetta, in the opera company’s sixth revivial of Franco Zeffirelli’s second production of Verdi’s La Traviata: Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiuofficial, via Facebook June 16, 2019

Franco Zeffirelli’s second Traviata was his 11th Met Opera production, which debuted in the 1998-1999 season, one season after the Metropolitan Opera retired his first staging of Verdi’s La Traviata.

The Metropolitan Opera debuted Franco Zeffirelli’s second production of La Traviata on Monday, Nov. 23, 1998, in the opera company’s 819th performance of the opera about Parisian lovers by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). The new production received 13 performances in the 1998-1999 Met Opera season.

Involvement by Franco Zeffirelli (Feb. 12, 1923-June 15, 2019) in the 1998-1999 season’s La Traviata marked his second design and direction of the opera. His first staging of La Traviata had debuted Monday, Oct. 16, 1989, in the opera company’s 731st performance of the opera. Met Opera had retired Zeffirelli's first production in the 1996-1997 season.

Zeffirelli directed and designed the sets for his second staging of La Traviata. Italian stage costume and set designer Raimonda Gaetani (born May 23, 1942) made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the production’s costume designer. Zeffirelli’s production team also comprised American theatrical lighting designer Duane Schuler and American choreographer and flamenco dancer María Benítez.

Three conductors shared the podium for Zeffirelli’s second Traviata. The Metropolitan Opera’s second music director, James Levine (born June 23, 1943), conducted the premiere and the next three performances. Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi (born July 19, 1960) appeared in seven of the debut season’s 13 performances. American conductor Scott Bergeson made his Metropolitan Opera debut Christmas Eve, Dec. 30, in the production’s 11th performance and also conducted the 12th performance on Jan. 4, 1999.

Two sopranos sang the title role of Violetta in the production’s debut season. American operatic soprano Patricia Racette (born June 23, 1965) sang the title role in the premiere and in five additional performances. Spanish Basque soprano Ainhoa Arteta (born Sept. 24, 1964) sang Violetta in seven performances.

Three tenors sang opposite Violetta as Alfredo Germont. Argentinian lyric tenor Marcelo Álvarez (born Feb. 27, 1962) sang Alfredo in the season premiere and in seven additional performances. Italian tenor Roberto Aronica made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the production’s fifth performance, Dec. 9, and also sang Alfredo in the sixth performance, Dec. 12. Italian operatic tenor Marcello Giordani (Jan. 25, 1963-Oct. 5, 2019) sang Alfredo for the debut season’s last three performances.

The Metropolitan Opera staged 10 revivals of Zeffirelli’s second Traviata in the 11 seasons since the production’s 1998-1999 season debut. The production skipped only one season in the interim.

The Metropolitan Opera immediately followed the second Zeffirelli Traviata’s debut season with the production’s first revival in the 1999-2000 season. The second through fifth revivals were staged successively in the next four seasons: 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004. No revival was offered in the 2004-2005 season.

The sixth revival opened Feb. 4, 2006, with German operatic tenor Jonas Kaufmann (born July 10, 1969) making his Metropolitan Opera debut opposite Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu’s (Sept. 7, 1965) Violetta. Kaufmann sang Alfredo in the first six of the season’s 14 performances.

The seventh through 10th revivals, offered in seasons 2006-2007 through 2009-2010, successively followed the sixth revival. The final performance of Zeffirelli’s second Traviata took place April 24, 2010, during the 10th revival.

The final performance numbered as the second Traviata’s 142nd performance and as the opera house’s 960th performance of La Traviata. From debut to final performance, Zeffirelli’s second Traviata remained in Met Opera’s active repertory for 11 years 5-plus months.

Zeffirelli’s two productions contributed 229 performances to La Traviata’s performance history at the Metropolitan Opera and remained in the active repertory for a combined total of 18 and three-fourths years. The first staging’s span from the 1989-1990 to 1996-1997 seasons accounted for 87 performances over seven and one-fourth years.

Willy Decker’s new production replaced Zeffirelli’s second Traviata in the next season, 2010-2011. The German theatre director’s (born Sept. 8, 1950) new staging debuted Dec. 31, 2010, with nine performances. Decker’s staging experienced four revivals (2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, 2016-2017) over the next six seasons. The last performance, April 14, 2017, in the fourth revival numbered as the production’s 51st.

One season later, on Dec. 4, 2018, the Metropolitan Opera debuted a new Traviata by American theater director Michael Mayer (born June 27, 1960). The opera received 15 performances in the 2018-2019 season. The first revival, immediately launched in the 2019-2020 season, garnered 14 performances.

The takeaways for Franco Zeffirelli’s second Traviata as his 11th Met Opera production are that only one season separated the closing of Zeffirelli’s first Traviata and the opening of his second Traviata at Met Opera and that the Italian designer and director’s second Traviata experienced 10 revivals, contributed 142 performances to the opera’s Met Opera performance history and remained in Met Opera’s active repertory for 11 years 5-plus months.

Angela Gheorgiu’s Violetta and Thomas Hampson’s Germont in the Metropolitan Opera’s 10th and last revival (2009-2010 season) of Franco Zeffirelli’s second production of Verdi’s La Traviata; sets designed by Franco Zeffirelli, costumes by Raimonda Gaetani: Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiuofficial, via Facebook June 16, 2019

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Jonas Kaufmann made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2005-2006 season as Alfredo, opposite Angela Gheorghiu’s Violetta, in the opera company’s sixth revivial of Franco Zeffirelli’s second production of Verdi’s La Traviata: Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiuofficial, via Facebook June 16, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/angelagheorghiuofficial/photos/a.130117183711419/2441791249210656/

Angela Gheorgiu’s Violetta and Thomas Hampson’s Germont in the Metropolitan Opera’s 10th and last revival (2009-2010 season) of Franco Zeffirelli’s second production of Verdi’s La Traviata; sets designed by Franco Zeffirelli, costumes by Raimonda Gaetani: Angela Gheorghiu @angelagheorghiuofficial, via Facebook June 16, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/angelagheorghiuofficial/photos/pcb.2441799645876483/2441791622543952/

For further information:

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