Opera lovers savour a la carte Verdi in style

True love as the ultimate recipe for disaster, particularly when embroiled with impending financial ruin, honour and fatal illness, was the theme for Nicholas Heath's stylish Opera A la Carte version of La Traviata by Verdi at Loughcrew Gardens in Oldcastle, Co Meath at the weekend.

A large tent became 1930's Paris as Verdi's melodrama, originally staged in 1853 but brought forward in time for this compelling production, initially evoked shades of Noel Coward. Chain-smoking Violetta, cigarette holder in hand, entertained her pals in her salon, all paid for by her admirer Baron Douphol.

The large attendance looked on approvingly, the stage within the black and white decorated canvas caught the sophistication of the age of art deco.

Yet again, the assembled Loughcrew opera buffs displayed their fondness for dressing up. Hair styles and spiky, feathery headwear defied gravity, while most of the males appeared torn between pastiche cricket whites and flannels courtesy of Brideshead Revisited, or the gentleman's equivalent of the little black dress, that old reliable - the understated tuxedo.

Many ladies displayed rampant imagination with outfits ranging from standard Toulouse-Lautrec can can skirts to slinky numbers direct from the Berlin cabaret.

There were also touches of the orient. One dramatic looking young woman was asked if she had thought she was coming to see Puccini instead of Verdi. "I always know where I'm going," she hissed, leaving the man who had put the question soulfully gazing at her retreating bottom, wishing he had said nothing.

Judging by the amount of serious picnic preparations, including tables, free standing lights, silverware, wine glasses, gourmet foods and not a plastic cup or Winnie the Pooh paper serviette in sight, food, not romance, had been a priority for many.

For the duration of Act 1, everyone seemed content with enjoying the ensemble singing, quality solos and arias, as well as the colourful playing of the small orchestra, under the musical direction of pianist Susie Allan. She led an inspired quartet, violinists Jacqueline Shave and Patrick Kieran; violist Caroline Musker and cellist Frank Schaefer, with flair and subtle attention to the nuance and mood changes of Verdi's melodically full-blooded score.

Gifted soprano Caroline Childe's Violetta conveyed from the outset, the sense of a slightly jaded woman committed to a good time yet conscious of her secret. She looked glamorous with a trace of mortality clinging to her every gesture.

Tenor Paul Badley was a convincing Alfredo, no longer a youth but eager for love. Also outstanding was Colin Campbell's beautifully coloured baritone as Alfredo's father, the repressed Georgio Germont.

Charlie Naper, of Loughcrew, summed it up for everyone, "What a fantastic opera. Thank you Mr Verdi." Further performances of Opera A La Carte's version of La Traviata take place at Monksgrange, Co Wexford on July 8th and 9th.