Latvian National Opera production of "La Traviata" at Theatre House "Jūras vārti"

On Sunday, March 14, inhabitants of Ventspils and city guests are invited to see Latvian National Opera production of "La Traviata" played at Theatre House "Jūras vārti". Start at 5.00 pm. This is the first guest performance of opera here.

"I admit – the more popular opera is, the more difficult it is to stage a new production and say something new. In order to play this drama brilliantly, it is important to understand what historic period and in what conditions it takes place," director Andrejs Žagars says.

This production of "La Traviata" takes place in Paris after the 2nd World War. This is the time when people tried to forget the death, blood and losses, to heal the recent wounds and to enjoy life with a great ardor once again. In 1950s, the capital of France had just recovered from war and German occupation and had again become a flourishing metropolis of art and elegance. Postwar period was the time when Violetta Valéry's contemporaries could have been Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Édith Piaf, Jean Cocteau, etc. At dark, Parisian bars, clubs and salons were filled with continual laughs, talks, shouting and a clatter of crockery. Day after day intellectuals, existentialists and artists were sitting in cafés, smoking cigarettes "Gauloises", sipping coffee or "Pernod", reading "Le Monde" or discussing about love, art, music, theatre, philosophy and politics (following exactly this order). This was also the "Vogue" Paris, a city of wandering hedonists with splendid balls and search for constant pleasure; a place of unrestricted imagination soaked with culture, sophistication, sensuality and temptation where boredom and emptiness were equal to death.

LNO production of "La Traviata" is full of gaiety, for costume designer Kristīne Pasternaka was inspired by "New Look", the style Christian Dior created in 1947. The signature shape was characterized by a below-mid-calf length, full-skirt, large bust, and small waist. In refutation to the post-war fabric restriction, Dior infamously used 20 yards of extravagant fabrics in his creations.

The world premiere of "La Traviata" took place on March 6, 1853 in Venice's "La Fenice". The opera was set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on the novel "La dame aux Camélias" by Alexandre Dumas, fils, published in 1848. For over a century, "La Traviata" has been one of the most popular and frequently staged operas of the world.

Cast:

Violetta Valéry – Sonora Vaice
Alfredo Germont – Pavel Chernoch
Giorgio Germont – Samsons Izjumovs

Conductor: Normunds Vaicis

Tickets (LVL 5.00-7.00) go on sale on February 11 at booking offices of "Biļešu Serviss" (www.bilesuserviss.lv) and Theatre House "Jūras vārti".

ventspils.lv

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