Atlanta Opera Music Director Arthur Fagen brought out the best in the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, delivering a crisp, untroubled interpretation.
Stéphanie Adrien, Opera News Online, July 24, 2019
Conductor Arthur Fagen similarly obliges by drawing out beautiful warmth and lovely detail from the orchestra. In the wrong hands, dynamic passages of “La Traviata” can sound bouncy and circus-like, and the sorrowful passages can become melodramatic and strained, but Fagen keeps things admirably on track, staidly reigning in the bounce and always evoking the real tragedy and genuine emotion, the deadly seriousness, at the heart of Verdi’s music. Small quiet moments, such as Alfredo’s discovery of Violetta’s letter, pop alive with tension and emotion through the music.
Andrew Alexander, AJC, April 30, 2019
Fagen and his orchestra bring out the best in the celebrated, multi-layered libretto by Francesco Maria Piave from haunting arias by main character Violetta Valéry (Zuzana Marková) to the numerous duets.
Jim Farmer, April 29, 2019, Artsatl.org