La Traviata

In the organizer's words:

Opera by Giuseppe Verdi

All eyes are on her. Wherever she appears, she becomes the center of attention: Violetta Valéry. The life-lady and courtesan has achieved considerable fame in Paris and yet remains an outcast. One evening, Alfredo Germont, who has long adored Violetta from afar, dares to confess his love for her and the two fall in love. The couple try their hand at peaceful country life, but the relationship has no future. Violetta's social standing is unacceptable to Alfredo's family. Violetta, who is suffering from tuberculosis, releases her lover with a heavy heart because she knows that she will not live much longer. Alfredo, on the other hand, cannot accept this separation without further ado

Giuseppe Verdi set a milestone in music history with La Traviata in 1853. The composer turned his back on mythology, gods and historical subjects and instead brought everyday people to the stage. It is not without reason that the opera is one of the most popular in the repertoire: Verdi demonstrates all his skills in the music, tracing destinies in a stirring form and inventing the most beautiful melodies in the most tragic passages.

Søren Schuhmacher, the new artistic director of Theater Hagen, stages La Traviata as a reflection of our society. In Norbert Bellen's set design and Jeannine Cleemen's costumes, Violetta Valéry becomes a dazzling projection screen for our own ideas, fears and desires