Blood on the Floor

I have found the perfect antidote to Adrianne Pieczonka's Amelia--Karen Slack's magnificent Violetta at the Sacramento Opera. Spare us the noisy but square Verdi. We want our Verdi with soul. We want Verdi to wail. We want blood on the floor. And we found it at the Sacramento Opera's production of La Traviata.

Karen is a big spinto with a gorgeous tone who has style dripping from her fingertips. She just gets it. OK, I'm getting carried away. Let's just say you had to be there.

I thought she moved well, too. Everyone formed up around this intense emotional performance and gave us their best wailing Verdi.

I liked Timm Rolek as conductor more than I have in the past. He supported his singers well and fully grasped Verdi.

Alexander Boyer as Alfredo was fine. He should listen more to Pavarotti, especially the vowels. The most beautiful scene was the second act with Karen and Kenneth Overton as Giorgio Germont. The production was nice. The chorus was great.

Utterly magnificent. There are more performances. Be there.

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