Pretty Yende returns to the Wiener Staatsoper to star in Simon Stone’s acclaimed production of Verdi’s La Traviata this month. Following her triumphant house debut as Adina in Vienna earlier this season, Ms. Yende also previously received rave reviews for her “magical performance” (Opera News) as Violetta in the premiere of this Simon Stone production at the Opéra National de Paris in 2019.
On Sunday, March 7 at 6pm CET / 12:00 ET, the Wiener Staatsoper will broadcast the performance live for audiences to view on ORF III and the Wiener Staatsoper’s online streaming platform. Ms. Yende shares the stage with Juan Diego Flórez as Alfredo and Igor Golovatenko as Giorgio Germont. Giacomo Sagripanti will conduct the Wiener Staatsoper Orchestra and Chorus.
“Pretty Yende was the star of the evening: she was greeted with a standing ovation and the waving of the South African flag in the audience. Looking like a younger sister of Naomi Campbell, this media favorite has everything needed to be the people’s Violetta of the twenty-first century. It was refreshing to hear a genuine coloratura in Act I, where the festive fizz posed no problem for Yende. Although the later acts were lightweight in sound, Yende phrased with consummate musicality. The final scene was sustained on a silvery thread of tone, with Violetta’s two verses of “Addio del passato,” nicely varied by some darker coloring around references to the tomb. This was a magical performance.” (Opera News)
