Utah Opera Presents Verdi's Italian Classic LA TRAVIATA

Come experience Verdi's heartbreaking masterpiece, "La traviata," the opera that moved Julia Roberts' character to tears in "Pretty Woman." Utah Opera's newly refurbished and ever-popular production features scenic elements designed by Peter Dean Beck and costumes by Susan Memmott Allred. Garnett Bruce will direct the production, and Steven White will conduct the cast, Utah Opera Chorus, and Utah Symphony. Utah Opera's performances of "La traviata" will take place in the newly renovated Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre on October 12 at 7:30 PM, October 14 and 16 at 7 PM, October 18 at 7:30 PM and October 20 at 2 PM. This production will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets priced $29-106 are available for purchase through utahopera.org or by calling (801) 533-6683. Students are eligible to receive a 50 percent discount off the standard ticket price during Monday and Wednesday performances.

"La traviata" stars soprano Anya Matanovič as the beautiful but ill courtesan, Violetta Valéry. Ms. Matanovič was praised for her "power" and rich, warm soprano" by the Utah Arts Review when she performed as Juliette in Utah Opera's 2018-2019 production of "Roméo et Juliette." Tenor Rafael Moras makes his Utah Opera debut as Alfredo Germont, Violetta's love interest. His previous credits include the Duke of Mantua in "Rigoletto" at the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera and Remendado in The Dallas Opera production of "Carmen." Michael Chioldi, one of the most sought-after dramatic baritones of his generation, returns as Alfredo's father, Giorgio Germont. Mr. Chioldi is a regular at The Metropolitan Opera and performed as Baron Scarpia in Utah Opera's 2015-2016 production of "Tosca."

Director Garnett Bruce returns to Utah Opera for this highly anticipated production of "La traviata." Last November, he directed the Utah Symphony's performance of "Candide" (semi-staged) and Utah Opera audiences have enjoyed his direction of productions of "The Barber of Seville" (2006), "Madame Butterfly" (2008, 2014), "Carmen" (2010), and "Aïda" (2016). His directing credits with other opera companies include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy. In addition to directing, Bruce is the Co-Artistic Advisor of Opera San Antonio.

Utah Opera welcomes Steven White, conductor, who has been praised by Opera News as a conductor who "squeezes every drop of excitement and pathos from the score." Mr. White made his Metropolitan Opera debut with "La traviata," and has since then conducted numerous performances of this Italian classic. More recently, he conducted "Otello" at Austin Opera and "Rigoletto" at San Diego Opera. He has also conducted at Tchaikovsky Hall, New York City Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Vancouver Opera, among other companies.

"La traviata" will feature scenic elements designed by Peter Dean Beck, whose first work in opera was a production of "La traviata" in North Carolina in 1977. He has been the principal designer at the Hawaii Opera Theatre for 32 seasons and has designed over three hundred fifty productions across North America and Asia. In addition to the Hawaii Opera Theatre, his credits include designs for Atlanta Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera and Sakai City Opera in Japan.

Giuseppe Verdi was the most popular opera composer of his time, with every opera house in Italy seeking to produce his works. He composed 25 operas. While he was working on "Il Trovatore," he began to come up with ideas for the music in "La traviata," which has become the most popular of all Verdi's operas. He was much revered and it is said 28,000 people lined the streets for his funeral procession.

Francesco Maria Piave was an Italian librettist and composer who was involved with La Fenice Theatre in Venice for over a decade. His most important librettos were those he wrote for Verdi, of whom he became a devoted collaborator, which include notable works such as "MacBeth" (1847), "Rigoletto" (1851) and "La Forza del Destino" (1862).

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