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by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Arin Arbus

Canadian Opera Company, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto

September 18–October 27, 2026

Violetta: “Folleggiare di gioia in gioia”

The Canadian Opera Company’s current production of La Traviata is a must-see for any lover of opera. It is also a perfect a perfect example for the opera-curious of why opera-fans find the genre so thrilling. This is the third time the COC has presented American director Arin Arbus’s production (a co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Houston Grand Opera), and of these the present the most emotionally gripping because of the spectacular performances of the opera’s three central roles.

Arbus retains librettist Francesco Piave’s original setting in France in Verdi’s own time. I discussed the production in detail in my review of the 2015 presentation and added further comments in my review of the 2022 revival. This time around I still found the introduction of a life-sized puppet of a bull in Act 3 grating not just because it so grossly embodied the theme of death so subtly emphasized elsewhere, but because such large puppets, familiar from the play War Horse (2007), are a modern invention not suitable for the otherwise well-imagined period setting.

This time, too, I realized what a mistake it is for Arbus to stage the parties in both Act 1 and Act 3 as masked balls. Piave designates the party in Act 1 as a “convito” (dinner party) and only the ball in Act 3 as “Festa in costume”, thus providing a greater contrast between the two party scenes as well as causing us to reflect that the characters of Act 1 are still masking their views even if they are not wearing physical masks. As Alfredo tells Violetta in Act 1, “Nessuno al mondo v’ama” (“No one in the world loves you”), despite their carefree appearance. In Act 2 Violetta calls herself, “Che né amici, né parenti / io non conto tra’ viventi” (“I, who have no friends or family / among the living?”).

Other than this, the production is a model of a director bringing out the depth of a classic work simply through close attention to the text. The dinner party in Act is the first party Violetta has hosted since suffering from a long illness. During the overture Arbus shows us Violetta being dressed by her aid Annina and coughing gently, thus introducing from the start the theme of Violetta’s illness. Arbus has Violetta cough several other times during Act 1 before the bad turn that she cannot disguise. She sings that loves is a flower “che nasce e muore” (“which is born and dies”), and when she gives Alfredo a flower, she says he should return “Quando sarà appassito” (“When it has withered”). In Act 2 when Germont asks Violetta to give up Alfredo, she tells him outright, “Non sapete che colpita / d’atro morbo è la mia vita? / Che già presso il fine vedo? (“Don’t you know that my life / is endangered by a terrible disease, / that I have but a short time to live?”). Arbus’s emphasis on the theme of death reveals the opera’s real concern is not simply about a young man falling in love with a courtesan, but about how people should best live their lives and how people should best treat each other given how short their time is.

What brings Arbus’s vision to the fore are the electric performances of singers in the three main roles who also fine actors. Principal among these is American soprano Kathryn Lewek as Violetta, the Met’s reigning Queen of the Night since 2013. Her technical control is amazing and the facility of her coloratura is astounding. At no time does she sing Violetta’s arias as showpieces. At all times she communicates her character’s inner thoughts through her singing as if the numerous exciting runs were Violetta’s natural mode of expression. In her fantastic “Sempre libera”, triumphant (optional) high E♭ seemed like the ultimate expression of Violetta’s sense of freedom. Lewek’s voice is naturally bright, but she is able to darken it to convey Violetta’s anguish and illness later in the opera. Lewek is also an superb actor. Without singing a note we could tell just from Lewek’s gradual change of expression in Act 1 how Violetta comes to realize that Alfredo really does love her.

Chinese tenor Long Long makes a welcome return as Alfredo. He has a powerful voice devoid of harshness with a distinctive honey-coloured tone, perfect for a sincere, impassioned character like Alfredo. Like Lewek, Long, too, is an excellent actor. Especially memorable is his expression in Act 3 after Alfredo has thrown money at Violetta as if she were a whore. Turning away from Violetta his face immediately changes its expression from anger to remorse. Indeed, with Long we often know from his look what his character is thinking even before he sings a note.

It is a real pleasure to see veteran Canadian baritone Russell Braun as Germont. His voice now has a rumbling quality but he has lost none of his tonal variety or the warmth of his sound. His portrayal of Germont is the most complex I’ve seen. It is as if Alfredo’s father has talked himself into confronting Violetta and persists with his demand that she leave Alfredo even as he begins to realize that Violetta is not at all as he imagined her. Braun makes Germont seem a broken man when he interrupts the party in Act 3 to ask forgiveness.

In smaller roles, Emma Pennell lends her full, clear soprano to Annina, Peter Barrett uses his incisive baritone to make a dangerous Baron Douphol and mezzo Ariana Maubach well characterizes the haughty Flora Bervoix with a steely tone. Though I have seen the dance interlude by Austin McCormick twice before, this is the first time I felt is succeeded. This is likely due to the highly expressive and athletic dancing of Alexandre Deakin and Vania Dodoo-Beals as a gender-reversed female matador and bull, a further twist on the theme of death.

Whether it is more detailed direction from revival director Mo Zhou, the greater dramatic skills of the three principals or a combination of all these I can’t tell, but this is the first time of the seven Traviatas I have seen at the COC that I was fully drawn into the story. Lewek, Long and Braun generated such empathy for their characters that the opera did not seem merely about a sad death but a genuine tragedy where society and its rules were to blame for the insoluble problem the three principals face.

All that prevents this Traviata from being perfect is the indulgent conducting of Paolo Carignani. He frequently decelerates tempi and extends pauses intended to milk greater emotion from Verdi’s music. Verdi punctuates various reflective arias with measured accents from the orchestra. Carignani distanced these accents so far from each other I began to wonder if the next one was ever coming. Luckily, Lewek and Long, who were most affected by Carignani’s habit, have enough breath control to be comfortable with it.

While the cast under review struck me as the finest cast of all the COC Traviatas I’ve seen, it must be noted that they do not sing at all performances. Andriana Chuchman sings Violetta, Luke Norvell sings Alfredo and Reginald Smith, Jr. on September 27, October 2 and 9. It would be ideal to see both casts.

Christopher Hoile

Photos: Kathryn Lewek as Violetta and Long Long as Alfredo; dancers at Flora’s party in Act 3; Kathryn Lewek as Violetta and Russell Braun as Germont; Peter Barrett as Baron Douphol, Kathryn Lewek as Violetta and Long Long as Alfredo. © 2026 Michael Cooper.

For tickets visit: www.coc.ca.