Elizabeth Futral - Verdi: LA TRAVIATA, Sempre libera (+ a radio interview), Denver 2004, High E-flat

Note: Includes an addendum -- a 4-minute interview with Futral from the broadcast intermission.

THE SONGBIRD: Elizabeth Futral was born in North Carolina in 1963, but grew up in Louisiana. She studied with the legendary Virginia Zeani and was a winner in the national Met Auditions in 1991. Her first big splash was as Lakmé in the New York City Opera production in 1994. I was living in NYC at the time, but sadly missed it. I did get to see her live in recital at the small Carnegie Hall venue in 1995. Futral has had a very active and adventurous career in opera houses and concert halls around the world. Her Met debut was Lucia in 1999. She has sung nearly all of the standard lyric-coloratura roles, as well as been in revivals of uncommon works (Rossini's "Matilde di Shabran," Meyerbeer's "L'etoile du nord," Halévy's "Le Juive," Berlioz's "Benvenuti Cellini") and premiered new works (Dun's "The First Emperor" at the Met, Previn's "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Brief Encounter," Laitman’s "Scarlett Letter," and Gordon's "Twenty-Seven" as Alice B. Toklas).

THE MUSIC: Verdi's "La traviata" is the most popular opera in the world. According to Operabase statistics (https://www.operabase.com/statistics/en), since 1996 it's had 3,805 productions, more than any other opera. It was not a success at its premiere in Venice in 1853, due to the audience reactions to the singers, however productions in the following few years began to take hold (Madrid, Vienna, London, New York, and in a French translation in Paris) and this masterpiece has been a part of the core repertoire ever since. Violetta, the principal soprano role and title character is a long, very challenging and rewarding role with consistently brilliant music and a compelling story arc. Her multipart aria at the end of Act One begins with an introspective recitative that segues into an intimate and probing aria "Ah fors'e lui" where she ponders her burgeoning attraction to Alfredo and what their life together might be like. She stops herself cold when she realizes such a domestic life would be against her nature, and her fate, and in the highly florid cabaletta "Sempre libera" vows to continue living in the carefree lifestyle of a courtesan.