Utah Arts Review – Soprano Matanovic set to tackle role’s challenges in Utah Opera’s “Traviata”

by Edward Reichel

Utah Opera’s repertoire contains a substantial number of audience favorites that are reprised at fairly short intervals.

One of these warhorses is Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata, last seen in Salt Lake City in 2014, which will open the company’s season Saturday night in the newly renovated Capitol Theatre.

Verdi’s 1853 setting of Alexandre Dumas the younger’s play La dame aux camélias consistently ranks as one of the most frequently performed operas on both sides of the Atlantic. And soprano Anya Matanovic—who will be taking on the daunting role of Violetta Valéry in this production—said that should come as no surprise to anyone.

“It’s absolutely a popular opera,” the young American singer said in an interview with Utah Arts Review. She added that everyone is familiar with the music, even if they have never seen La traviata. “There are a lot of pieces that people know without realizing they’re from this opera.”

Read on at utahartsreview.com