La Traviata is one of the world’s most popular operas. Violetta, a courtesan, falls in love with her admirer Alfredo. Their happiness is shattered when Alfredo’s father, Germont, insists they separate to protect the family’s respectability. Violetta consents, provided Alfredo eventually learns of her sacrifice. Dying of consumption, she is reunited with Alfredo before her tragic end.
Italian director Silvia Paoli exposes the hypocrisies of the society that Verdi was forbidden to depict openly. Setting the opera in the Belle Époque, she creates a stifling world viewed through a female lens, highlighting a society in which men hold power and women are diminished. I have never seen a Traviata quite like this.
Verdi softened Dumas’ original story to satisfy the censors. Paoli restores much of its sexual ambiguity and social hypocrisy, most strikingly in a louche party scene populated by top-hatted men in tutus and moustachioed women.
There are many original touches. In Act I, when Alfredo kisses Violetta, she drops her skirt – because that is what society expects of her. During the Act II duet, Germont’s behaviour, from rifling through Violetta’s underwear to roughly groping her, exposes the hypocrisy beneath his moral outrage. He demands that Violetta sacrifice Alfredo while calmly sipping tea.
Some touches distract. During the Act I Brindisi, male dancers in tutus whirl in front of the soloists, partially obscuring them from the audience.
Robotic figures appear throughout the evening, moving furniture with clockwork precision and allowing scenes to flow seamlessly. They return in Act II to serve Alfredo, reinforcing his unquestioned sense of entitlement until Annina reveals that Violetta is selling her possessions.
Violetta’s obsession with a doll, together with a small house that slowly traverses the back of the stage, is more perplexing.
The major flaw in this production is the height of the stage. Most seats are in the stalls and only those in the elevated boxes enjoy a full view. Violetta sings much of the final scene lying on her back on the floor. Apparently, her final death throes mirror the movements of the dancer who appears at the beginning of the opera, but much of the audience cannot see this.
American soprano Kathryn Lewek, renowned as the Queen of the Night, makes a striking transition to Verdi heroine. She is a compelling actress, with a powerful lower register – unsurprising given that she began her career as a mezzo-soprano. In “Sempre libera”, she displays a richly coloured vocal palette and exquisite pianissimi.
Act III is devastating. Violetta reads Germont’s letter promising to return with Alfredo. Her response – “È tardi” (“too late”) – is taken literally. They never return. Lewek sings the great aria “Addio del passato” largely while lying on her back on the floor, hidden from much of the audience. Her ability to sustain Verdi’s delicate fil di voce and pianissimi in such an awkward position is remarkable. Delirious and dying, she imagines Alfredo and Germont beside her. Violetta’s lonely death, writhing in agony, is utterly devastating. It is a stunning performance, combining vocal mastery with profound emotional truth.
French tenor Julien Behr is a rising star. An engaging stage presence and convincing actor, he brings freshness, energy and complexity to Alfredo. Passionate yet shockingly brutal during Flora’s party, he possesses a bright, varied vocal palette and confirms himself as an artist to watch.
French baritone Jean-Sébastien Bou brings authority and sonority to an unusually manipulative Germont, a man accustomed to getting his own way. Compassionless, he bullies Violetta into submission and slaps Alfredo in fury. “Di Provenza” becomes less a consolation than an instrument of emotional coercion.
Through Silvia Paoli’s distinctive lens, Violetta’s tragedy becomes a powerful indictment of a society built on hypocrisy and unequal power. Combined with outstanding performances from the principal cast, it is highly recommended.
Music by Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
Based on La Dame aux Camélias (1852) by Alexandre Dumas fils
Conductor: Andrea Sanguineti
Director: Silvia Paoli
Cast includes Kathryn Lewek, Julien Behr, Jean-Sébastien Bou, Majdouline Zerari, Cécile Lo Bianco, Luca Lombardo, Frédéric Cornille and Wolfgang Rauch
27 May – 6 June 2026
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes