Name: La Traviata
Start: 2022-05-15
End: 2022-05-15
Location: Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa

Organization

Singer

Tenor

Rafał Bartmiński

Alfred Germont

Baritone

Krzysztof Szumanski

George Germont

Stanisław Kuflyuk

Soprano

Elzbieta Wroblewska

Flora Bervoix

Mateusz Zajdel

Gaston

Tomasz Rak

The Baron Douphol

Bass

Remigiusz Łukomski

The doctor Grenvil

Paweł Trojak

The Marquis of Obigny

Mezzo-soprano

Katarzyna Szymkowiak

Annina

Stage director

Mariusz Treliński

Conductor

Patrick Fournillier

Lighting designer

Marc Heinz

Costume designer

Tomasz Ossoliński

Gosia Baczyńska

Set designer

Boris Kudlička

Video designer

Darek Blaszczyk Cokierek

Choreographer

Tomasz Jan Wygoda

Dramaturge

Piotr Gruszczyński

Chorus master

Mirosław Janowski

Tadeusz Szlenkier

Iwona Sobotka

Violetta Valery

Ruslana Koval

Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa

Orchestra

Orchestra of the Polish National Opera

Others

Chorus of the Polish National Opera

Instrumentalists of the Teatr Wielki's orchestra

Polski Balet Narodowy

Italian

La Traviata -  (La traviata)

Warsaw

Poland

Sala Moniuszki

Poster

Public

La traviata

Polish

Approved

La traviata Verdi

TRAVIATAGiuseppe Verdi, reżyseria: Mariusz TrelińskiOpera w trzech aktachLibretto: Francesco Maria Piave wg Damy kameliowej Aleksandra Dumas (syna)Prapremier...

The directing motto of this spectacular staging is a phrase taken from the farewell letter of Nirvana's leader Curt Cobain: "It's better to burn out than to fade away". Because  Giuseppe Verdi's Traviata , staged by Mariusz Treliński, is a show about a star that burns in its own light. In the director's interpretation, Verdi's masterpiece became a portrait of the artistic milieu.

Violetta Valery - in the premiere performance created by Aleksandra Kurzak - is a revue artist adored by the audience. Her stage costume is a black wig, corset, blue coat - boa and garter stockings. Although he does not live the life of a luxurious courtesan, as in  Alexandre Dumas' son's The Lady of the Camellias , the prototype of La Traviata , he lives on his attractiveness and the applause of fans.

The scenography designed by Boris Kudlička, built on a 50-meter platform, moves to the rhythm of the music from the left backstage to the right, showing scenes from the heroine's life: a cabaret space full of dance and colorful lights, crazy parties with friends, among which Alfredo will be in the foreground Germont overwhelmed by a passionate feeling for a beautiful celebrity. Under the influence of this love, Violetta will undergo an internal transformation, and the colorful "film" about her existence dripping with glitz will turn into a story about spiritual maturation. The director and set designer show this transformation by reducing theatrical decorations: from the dancing first act in a Parisian club, to the finale on an empty stage, when death comes to the protagonist.

In the nineteenth century, the profession of a courtesan aroused unhealthy emotions and forbidden desires, the greater the more severe the odium of sin and deviation from the adopted rules. Dumas, followed by Verdi, tried to show the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie, which officially condemned women living off of prostitution and willingly availed of their services behind a screen. In their masterpieces, easily dismissed as "tear-jerkers," the sinner becomes human.

It is worth mentioning that the widespread belief in the scandal caused by Dumas's play is not true - during the premiere in Paris in 1852, the whole audience cried over the poor heroine, who first abandons the profession of courtesan and then dies of tuberculosis in the arms of her beloved.

On the other hand, the defeat that accompanied the world premiere of Verdi's La Traviata at the Venetian theater La Fenice (1853) was not dictated by a moral scandal, but by a poorly selected cast, especially in the title role, in which Fanny Salvini-Donatella appeared not alluring enough for the audience. A year later, after minor compositional modifications, the La Traviata was staged in another Venetian theater - San Benedetto. Then it achieved a triumph that continues to this day, because it is one of the most staged operas in the world.

The greatness of a work is measured in its suitability to the emotions and problems of the present day. What attracts us about La  Traviata in the 21st century, apart from enchanting music, of course? Manners have changed, the odium of sin no longer weighs us down, there are no old prejudices. And yet,  Traviata still serves as a mirror - in a time when reality takes place in two dimensions - tangible and virtual, when we "sell" our lives on social media and make our choices dependent on influencer's "advice" dictated by commercials. Today Violetta Valery might as well be a man. Or to have no gender at all. On the other hand, the opera's theme of escaping the hustle and bustle of the world and the question of the meaning of life seem as important today as it was then; as is the decadent attempt to escape death.

English

La traviata by Verdi, Sun 15 May 2022, From (2022/2022), Directed by Mariusz Treliński,, Conductor Patrick Fournillier, Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa, Warsaw, Poland

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Videos

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Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues