One of the world’s most celebrated opera directors David McVicar comes home to Glasgow to direct his first-ever production of La traviata.
McVicar, highly acclaimed for his searingly honest treatment of classic operas, promises an authentic take on the famous courtesan’s tragic tale that remains faithful to Alexandre Dumas’ original novel La dame aux Camelias.
La traviata sees the Scottish Opera debut of Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio in the role of Violetta. Carmen last performed in Scotland in La Donna del Lago at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2006. She has also performed in several productions at La Scala under the baton of esteemed conductor Riccardo Muti and won first prize in Operalia, Placido Domingo’s world opera competition for young people.
The production features an ensemble of chorus, dancers and actors, an array of lavish costumes and a clever set revealing the intimacy of Violetta’s boudoir, her home and her final days in Paris. McVicar’s creative team of choreographer Andrew George and designer Tanya McCallin join the company for this production, while French conductor Emmanuel Joel-Hornak returns to Scottish Opera having previously conducted La Belle Helene and Aida for the company.
The production will tour to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness before transferring to the Grand Opera House in Belfast early in 2009 for the company’s first performances in Northern Ireland since 1990.
The company will also present Scottish Opera Unwrapped – an hour long, free introduction to opera – on Wednesday 5 November (Eden Court, Inverness), Wednesday 12 November (His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen), Tuesday 25 November (Edinburgh Festival Theatre), Thursday 5 February (Theatre Royal Glasgow) and Friday 27 February (Grand Opera House, Belfast). Presented on an alternative night to performances, Unwrapped gives new audiences and interested opera attendees a fascinating chance to get a glimpse into each new production with cast members and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. -- www.scottishopera.org.uk
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