A star is born: A soprano’s iconic debut – 30 years on

‘I still remember the applause at the end of the first act on the first night, when everyone in that theatre must have realised that it was a classic “A star is born” moment.’ Nicholas Payne, then opera director at the Royal Opera House, was in the audience at Covent Garden on 25 November 1994 when great soprano Angela Gheorghiu sang the title role of Violetta Valery in Verdi’s La traviata for the first time in her life. It was the premiere of the ROH’s new production by Sir Richard Eyre with Sir Georg Solti conducting, and many audience-members and critics felt that Gheorghiu’s performance was unparalleled in their experience (experience which, in some cases, included some of the most famous Violettas of the 20^th Century).

The impact of that evening was exceptional. At the instigation of the highly demanding Solti, and with less than a week’s notice, the entire performance a few nights later was recorded live by Decca Classics and, in an extraordinary development without precedent for an opera relay (and which has remained without sequel ever since) BBC Two cleared its schedules to televise the entire production live. The televised performance was later issued on a Decca DVD using Decca’s audio balance and now, to mark the 30^th anniversary of the event, Decca Classics is making the complete recording available on streaming platforms. This gives those of us who were there an opportunity to revisit the performance and evaluate (in cold blood, as it were) whether it still makes the immense impression that it did in the winter of 1994.

I found Gheorghiu’s portrayal every bit as mesmerising, vocally and psychologically, as it was when it took everyone by storm back then, and I am far from alone. Andrew Cornall, who produced the Decca recording, commented: ‘There was a sense of something happening, as you can tell from the audience’s applause, and listening back now to what Angela did at that time, she was truly remarkable, even at that young age. She delivered the emotional arch from the beginning to the end of the opera – it was astonishing.’ Peter Maniura, who co-directed the BBC Television relay with former head of BBC Music and Arts Sir Humphrey Burton, adds: ‘There’s no doubt then that it felt a very special moment, and as you look back it doesn’t diminish. So many elements came together: that started with Sir Georg Solti and Sir Richard Eyre, with the shining star at the top being Angela Gheorghiu. With her, especially in the big aria and cabaletta in Act 1, I realised I was hearing something quite remarkable, which was complete technique and vocal ease – and in that music many people, even those with good techniques, struggle: there was not a trace of struggle at all in Angela.’

Indeed, that performance was soon held up as the yardstick of Violetta Valery around the world, both vocally and theatrically. And especially with Decca’s preservation of her portrayal on CD and DVD, in many peoples’ minds Gheorghiu became a lasting international icon of La traviata. In the recording world there could perhaps be said to be a parallel with Jacqueline du Pré’s famous interpretation of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, which since 1965 has occupied a uniquely legendary status of its own. In both cases, after decades the impact has never lessened an iota, and new generations of music lovers and critics have been affected in the very same way by the performances.

Facing the future: 'I believe that young singers and students must find their own interpretations and not be geared by me into any characteristic of my own' © Catherine Ashmore, courtesy Royal Opera House

Now, 30 years on from her Violetta debut, Gheorghiu has salutary observations about learning and performing La traviata – from both historical and present-day perspectives. Although she was 29 years old when she sang the role for the first time, she had been studying it profoundly for a very long time before bringing it to the stage. ‘Ever since I had been a teenager I had always been sure that the role of Violetta would one day be central to my life, as I was so passionately involved with La traviata for so long. For many long years before I performed the opera, I felt I identified so very closely with the character of Violetta, and I wanted to discover as much as I possibly could about her. I read voraciously about the powerful effect Dumas’ La dame aux camellias had on Verdi and how deeply he loved the personality of Marguerite Gautier, who became Violetta Valery in his opera. I was constantly studying the opera’s music and texts, and not just Violetta’s role but all the parts, including the orchestra music too. And I listened carefully to just about every important recording that had been made of La traviata, with some fantastic Violettas like Maria Callas, Virginia Zeani, and others too.

‘I have undertaken that entire long and wide absorbing process of reading, studying and listening with every one of the roles I have sung, and I strongly recommend it to all young artists and students. I feel that it is especially important right now since the artists of today and tomorrow have to face so many experimental productions. Of course, it’s entirely up to them whether they like these productions or not, but – and this I feel strongly about – one absolutely must know and understand where the creation came from first: how it originated, and what the composer had in mind.’

Gheorghiu's deep research of her characters is one of the keys to her success © Catherine Ashmore

Although Gheorghiu cites this extensive research and probing understanding as a key ingredient in her interpretation of the role that especially brought her iconic early fame, when she passes on advice to future generations of opera singers she is careful to emphasise how every artist must express their own individuality in their performances. ‘I don’t want to give any advice to anyone that they should try and copy anything I do or have done. Of course, there are very fundamental technical matters that have to be addressed, and I am demanding in that respect, but even those issues will vary from person to person in the way they should be approached. I believe that young singers and students must find their own interpretations and not be geared by me into any characteristic of my own. I find out where they have come from, what their backgrounds are, what they feel about today’s productions.

‘Today’s productions of La traviata are different, and often very different, from the one I sang in at the Royal Opera House, when Sir Richard Eyre wanted to present a staging as close as possible to Verdi’s original intentions, and achieved that so magnificently. So many opera productions today are experimental – and so often very dissimilar in approach and character from how the operas were originally conceived, and if I give advice that is contrary to what is often required now, the students will suffer. Many of them have said to me how much they would love to be in that Covent Garden production of La traviata wearing my costumes, but whereas that is lovely to know, what matters for them is to see what will happen in the future and for them to be prepared for this. They are free in their minds and choices to do the productions of the present and future – if they want to. And then the public will accept or not, love or not, and believe or not what they see. You know the famous phrase: “The show must go on!”’

Decca's recording of Angela Gheorghiu's breakthrough performance as Violetta is now available for streaming here.