The Valentino Foundation presents Verdi’s La Traviata at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma through June 30.  It was a work night, and our busy season too, but I have the best co-workers who had a too tempting to resist extra ticket. This latest production of a classic opera is getting a lot of buzz for the fashion powerhouse’s support and costume designs.  The performance is a treat for opera and fashion lovers alike.    

Opening night was the hottest tickets in town – with a celebrity filled red carpet.  The partnership with Maison Valentino has brought much-needed attention to Rome’s opera house.   The production marks Academy-award winner Sophia Coppola’s opera directorial debut.  Valentino convinced Coppola to take the plunge.  Nathan Crowley of Batman Dark Knight fame is in charge of production design.  Coppola attended the opening in a black gown from the Valentino Fall 2015 Couture collection.  

Valentino tells the press that it was a life long dream to personally design the dresses worn by the lead Violetta.   The exquisite black sequined gown with ruffled peacock train featured in the first act took 800 hours to produce.  You can catch a glimpse in Teatro dell’Opera’s YouTube video above.  Designers from the Maison Valentino produced the rest of the costumes including elegant and floaty couture tulle ball gowns and modern black pieces for the chorus dancers.   

Composer Guiseppe Verdi’s La Traviata is inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ 1848 novel The Lady of the Camellias.  La Traviata is a tragic love story that first opened with mixed reviews in 1853 but has gone on to become an opera classic.  Violetta, a self-sacrificing courtesan foresakes her love Alfredo Germont at the behest of Alfredo’s father. 

Giovanni Meoni, the baritone who played the role of Alfredo’s father, stole the show during the performance.

Despite a modern exterior, the interior of the Teatro dell’Opera reflects its origins in the gilded age.  The opera moves outdoors in the summer for special evening performances at the site of the Roman Baths at the Terme di Caracalla.  In addition to operas such as Madame Butterfly and the Barber of Seville, the summer program includes concerts with Lionel Richie and Neil Young.