Award-winning Australian soprano, Nicole Car will make a triumphant return to the Sydney Opera House this March to make her debut in the title role of Violetta Valéry in Verdi’s iconic La Traviata.
Nicole has firmly established herself as one of the world’s most exciting opera singers, with critically acclaimed performances in Luisa Miller at the Sydney Opera House and Eugene Onegin at Covent Garden, and the release of her solo album of operatic arias The Kiss – debuting at number one on the Australian classical charts.
Described as ‘the next Joan Sutherland’, Nicole’s most recent engagements include her debut at the Paris Opera, a concert performance of Massenet’s Thaïs at Sydney Town Hall and Puccini’s La Bohème at Covent Garden. Nicole and her Canadian baritone husband Etienne Dupuis recently welcomed their first child (Noah) into the world, and this role debut as Violetta Valéry will also mark her first performance as a mother at the Sydney Opera House.
One of Australia’s rising sopranos, Stacey Alleaume, will share the role of Violetta across the Sydney season. Stacey made her debut in the role in 2017 as a last-minute cover – a performance she received a standing ovation for. Nicole and Stacey will be joined on stage by much-loved South Korean tenor Ji-Min Park, powerful Ukrainian baritone Vitaliy Bilyy and an all-star Australian cast under the baton of Conductor Andrea Licata.
La Traviata is one of the world’s most popular operas. It includes the show-stopping arias Sempre Libera as well as the famous drinking song, the Brindisi. Famous for its starring role in the hit film Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere took Julia Roberts to her first opera, La Traviata is the quintessential operatic tragedy.
The story of La Traviata was devastatingly close to Verdi’s own life. Shortly after the death of his young wife and children, Verdi took up with his own “traviata”, or fallen woman – a celebrated soprano who daringly defied convention in favour of freedom and a life of luxury.
This production by Elijah Moshinsky is one of Opera Australia’s most successful, featuring opulent party scenes in Paris and beautiful autumn afternoons in the countryside. Michael Yeargan’s lavishly decorated sets and Peter J Hall’s exquisite costumes along with Verdi’s famous, hummable tunes combine to create the perfect production for those wanting to experience opera for the first time.
La Traviata
Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point
Season: 1 – 27 March 2018
Information and Bookings: www.opera.org.au
Image: courtesy of Opera Australia