10, 13, 15, 17 September 2022

Come and celebrate the return of opera to the Grand Opera House Belfast in September 2022.

Join us as we present a brand-new production of the well-loved and cherished ‘La Traviata’ by Giuseppe Verdi. 

‘La Traviata’ tells the story of the tragic love between the courtesan Violetta Valéry and the romantic Alfredo Germont.  Falling hopelessly in love the two leave the dizzying heights of Paris society for the country. Their love affair threatens to shame Alfredo’s family name. His father confronts Violetta to try to get her to leave Alfredo, to save his family name and the reputation of his sister.  In an act of self-sacrifice Violetta agrees to leave her one true love and ends up paying the ultimate price.

This stunning new production is sure to delight and move audiences of all ages. It is perfect for anyone looking to dip their toe in and try out a new experience by attending an opera and it will be treasured by those who are already opera fans.

Northern Ireland Opera is delighted to engage with the Ulster Orchestra in bringing to life this masterpiece.  Let us welcome you back to the beautifully refurbished Grand Opera in September for a night at the opera!

More about ‘La Traviata’

This opera is closely based on the real life lover of the novelist Alexandre Dumas, Marie Duplessis (1824-1874). Alexandre Dumas wrote the highly popular novel ‘La Dame aux Camélias’ 1852 (The Lady with the Camelias) and then adapted his novel into an enduring stage play. Almost immediately, composer Giuseppe Verdi started to set this text to music and his nineteenth opera was premiered in Le Fenice in Venice in 1853. Originally the opera was called ‘Violetta’ after the title of the main character, but the more evocative title of ‘La Traviata’ has stood the test of time.  This opera is one of the most performed operas from all the operatic canon.

• Performed in Italian with English surtitles.
• Hear what our audiences had to say about Cameron Menzies’s production of ‘La Bohème’ in Belfast: click here

Outreach Week

Youth, School and Community Groups are welcome to join us for a series of free creative workshops, ‘Come and Sing’ events, pop-up performances and our open dress rehearsal for ‘La Traviata’ from 5-9 September in the Grand Opera House.  These events are made possible by generous support from the Garfield Weston Foundation and our Principal Funder, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.  Find out more and book places by clicking here. 

Meet the NI Opera ‘La Traviata’ Chorus

Following an open auditions process, 24 opera singers have been selected to perform in the chorus for ‘La Traviata’. These artists join NI Opera’s new chorus development programme and are already accessing training and support from regular and guest coaches, including Tristan Russcher, Matthew Quinn, Matthew Owens, Isabel Baquero (Choreographer) and Thomas Johnson, (Music Staff at Staatsoper Unter den Linden).

The chorus are working on a variety of choruses across different musical periods as well as their main focus of learning ‘La Traviata’ ready for September’s production in the Grand Opera House.