A singer trying out a role for the first time anywhere at the barnlike, high-exposure Metropolitan Opera is like a runner taking a chance on a new distance at the Olympics. And that race is the marathon when the role is a touchstone like Violetta in Verdi’s “Traviata,”… To go with the Met and its stark Willy Decker production instead is just about the bravest choice Ms. Damrau could have made. And she deserved her joyful victory dance at the end of her curtain call. …. in the increasingly intense second and third acts. There Ms. Damrau settled in, and her voice both broadened and focused, encompassing both filaments of sound and full-voiced cries in a haunting “Addio del passato.” By her final outpouring, “Gran Dio, morir sì giovine,” she was in a furious groove,…. Her ethereal, wounded “Dite alla giovane” took on a fresh poignancy: the first real defeat of a young woman used to winning. For Ms. Damrau, though, this Violetta was a daring victory.
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times – March 18, 2013
Triumphant ‘Traviata’ for Violetta
Though “La Traviata” means “the lost one,” Thursday’s Met performance of the Verdi tearjerker featured a major find: Diana Damrau, who, in her first outing as Violetta, mesmerized with her gleaming soprano and ferocious acting….
Most sopranos play the title role — a dying courtesan who finds and loses true love — with gentle pathos. Damrau focused like a laser on the character’s desperation, raging against impending death….
Since she’s best known as a coloratura, her virtuoso singing of the glittering Act 1 aria “Sempre libera,” complete with a skyrocket of a high E-flat, came as no surprise. But the high point of the evening was her exquisite legato performance of Violetta’s farewell to life, “Addio del passato.”…
Even more importantly, the production exquisitely frames Damrau’s Violetta, a singing/acting portrayal to rival the greatest in the world today.
James Jorden, New York Post – March 18, 2013
The night belonged to Diana Damrau
She sang with rare passion and point, interpolating an easy E-flat at the end of the first act and fusing virtuosity with tragedy in “Addio del passato” (both verses). She mastered hysterical fioriture, arching lyricism and dramatic thrust, as needed. It has been a long time . . .
Financial Times – March 18, 2013
dazzling debut
thrilling Diana Damrau
Damrau, who showed her coloratura brilliance earlier this season as Gilda in the Met’s new Las Vegas Rigoletto, displayed her vocal dexterity as Violetta. From her defiant “Sempre Libera” at the outset to her anguished “Addio, del passato” at the end, Damrau gave full rich voice to a passion for life and the agony of its loss. Huffington Post – March 15, 2013
Diana Damrau making a stunning role début as Violetta. Her technique—the pinpoint coloratura, the gorgeous sheen on high notes, the well-sculpted melodic lines—is as impressive as ever, but the production, revived by Decker himself, brings out new depths in her acting
New Yorker – March 22, 2013
…when the opera was over and soprano Diana Damrau stepped forward to take a solo bow as the heroine, Violetta, many members of the near-capacity crowd leaped to their feet in one of the more heartfelt and sustained standing ovations in recent memory. Damrau deserved every bit of it. Her singing from start to finish was nothing short of sensational, from the blazing coloratura pyrotechnics of “Sempre libera” to the lyrical pathos of “Addio del passato.” Her bright, silvery voice rose above the ensembles with ease, and her soft singing was a model of restraint. Most of all, she made the touchstone role her own, with shadings and inflections that set her apart. One example was the way she responded to Alfredo’s late plea that they leave Paris together so she could regain her health: “Parigi, o caro,” she echoed, but her subdued, wistful tone told us she knew it was a vain hope. Dramatically, the German soprano worked hard to fulfill Decker’s vision of an exhausted, consumptive courtesan compelled to put on her red dress and high-heel shoes to entertain her savage admirers. If other singers have brought more elegance and charisma to their physical embodiment of the character, few have equaled her in portraying Violetta through her music.
That this was Damrau’s debut in the role makes the achievement all the more remarkable. After she had basked awhile in that standing ovation, she broke into a broad grin and jumped up and down several times, waving her arms exuberantly. Who could blame her? Damrau’s triumph, coming on the heels of her splendid Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” last month, solidifies her position as one of the Met’s most important stars.
Mike Silverman, Associated Press, 15.03.13
