Opera Scotland

Traviata 1967Sadler's Wells Opera

Read more about the opera Traviata

Frank Hauser's Traviata production, here redirected by John Blatchley and visiting Scotland for the last time, had been in the Sadler's Wells repertoire since 1960. Unlike some of the company's popular stagings, it did survive the move to the Coliseum in autumn 1968. However it was quickly recognised to be too small-scale for the larger West End theatre and would soon be replaced by an excellent new version directed by John Copley. Unfortunately this did not tour to Scotland.

Of the singers, Ava June, Alberto Remedios, Raimund Herincx and Neil Easton were more than reliable, and excellent performers. Margaret Curphey had not been seen in such a major role before, but was an excellent lyric soprano who would appear in important roles in the Italian and German repertoires.

A new singer to note is the Australian baritone Tom McDonnell. He spent the next decade with the Sadler's Wells company. His parts ranged from Mozart and Verdi through to Prokofiev (Andrei Bolkonsky in War and Peace). He created the part of Atahuallpa in Iain Hamilton's Royal Hunt of the Sun (1977), after which he also worked with Scottish Opera.

Cast details are from a Glasgow programme in the OperaScotland collection.