PONY to Stage LA TRAVIATA Like You've Never Seen It Before

La Traviata comes to New York in a spectacular new production unlike anything operagoers have seen before when the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York (PONY), under the baton of principal conductor Atsushi Yamada, present two powerful concerts live at Jazz at Lincoln Center from March 20-21, at 7:30 pm. Hailed as "among the most progressive modern orchestras," PONY returns with a first for opera - holographic settings.

PONY is smashing opera conventions by taking audiences on a gripping journey of passionate romance and callous brawling, all told through music performed by world-class singers and orchestra live on stage with cutting-edge lighting and striking 3D settings of contemporary New York and Niagara Falls projected on a mega screen.

"If we want to continue to break classical music taboos, we have the challenge of outperforming ourselves," said Maestro Yamada, "but with innovations from technology, we can do just that, while staying true to the integrity of the music with exceptional playing by some of the world's finest musicians. We are thrilled to bring La Traviata to fans in a new way and hope Verdi would be proud of the world we created for his opera." Maestro Yamada is the co-founder of PONY, whose distinguished conducting career includes many performances with the New York City Opera, including a tour of Japan with Madame Butterfly.

Renee Fleming Award winner Karen Chia-ling Ho plays Violetta. Alex Richardson, who made his recent Metropolitan Opera debut in Tristan und Isolde, plays Alfredo, and Robert Kerr is Germont, acclaimed by The New York Times for "making words matter." PONY is proud to welcome back the students of Project Hand in Hand for these concerts. For the past seven years, the musicians of PONY and Project Hand in Hand have worked together to help the children of Japan affected by the East Japan disaster through the power of music.

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