With his La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi not only told the story of a terminally ill courtesan. He also confronted his contemporaries with their own hypocritical morals. In her forceful production, German director Tatjana Gürbaca does the same.
Heartrending story about a ‘material girl’
Based on the 1848 novel La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, La Traviata was Verdi’s first opera to revolve around current issues. Marie Duplessis, the Parisian courtesan on whom the novel’s protagonist was modelled, had died a year before. She had been a cult figure, embodying success and glamour until her tragic death.
Long-awaited debut
La Traviata is the long-awaited DNO debut of Tatjana Gürbaca, one of today’s most exciting opera directors. In her production, Violetta Valéry, initially a carefree ‘material girl’, becomes increasingly entangled in the capitalistic system that eventually crushes her. Gürbaca strips the opera of all its unnecessary decorations and lays bare the unrelenting hardness of the human condition against the background of a minimalistic décor.
Up-and-coming singers ans a Verdi veteran
Violetta Valéry’s role calls for an exceptionally versatile singer and actress. It is said with good reason that ideally the role should be performed by three different sopranos, one for each act. DNO has engaged an up-and-coming singer for the role, the young Armenian soprano, Mané Galoyan, whose performance of the role in Glyndebourne was a great success.
The Ukrainian tenor Bogdan Volkov, winner of the World Opera Competition, Operalia in 2016, plays her lover, Alfredo Germont. The trio of lead roles is completed by Verdi veteran George Petean, known for his impressive portrayal of Nabucco with DNO.
Musical direction is in the hands of the energetic and passionate Italian conductor Andrea Battistoni, who has already proven to be a master of his homeland’s repertoire in his previous collaborations with DNO, La bohème (2017) and Petite messe solennelle (2021).
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