LA TRAVIATA • BREGENZ
★★★★★☆
Photo: Anja Koehler
REVIEW: LA TRAVIATA IN BREGENZ: A SPECTACULAR OPERA SHOW WITH INCREDIBLE VISUAL IMPACT
Damiano Michieletto is known for his audience-friendly and visually striking interpretations of opera’s greatest works. His new production of *La Traviata* on Bregenz’s famous lake stage is a spectacular production on a grand scale. It is a production that makes a tremendous impression, but one that also raises the question of just how much an intimate psychological drama can actually withstand being blown out of proportion.
Verdi’s classic opera about the ailing high-class prostitute Violetta unfolds against a set design of almost absurd proportions. On the shore of Lake Constance, a 28-meter-high mirror rises above the water, shattered into 86 moving fragments, bathed in video projections, lighting design, and special effects. About a hundred performers populate Paolo Fantin’s spectacular mirror universe in front of the stadium-like stands, where up to 7,000 spectators gather each evening.
Photo: Anja Koehler
It’s a mega-production in every sense of the word. Some might say it’s more of a show than a traditional opera performance. But does it really matter? The show runs for about 30 nights throughout the summer and has been sold out since Easter (185,000 tickets). Audiences are flocking to it, and it’s easy to see why.
To the strains of Verdi’s mournful overture, Violetta staggers onto the stage in a gaudy gold sequined party dress. She stares into a mirror that almost seems to reveal her own tragic future. Shortly afterward, the mirror is thrown into the lake, and the party can begin.
Photo: Anja Koehler
The iconic “Brindisi” ensemble number kicks off a massive pool party, where a huge cast takes the stage in extravagant Gatsby-inspired costumes, sparkling swimwear, and Art Deco glamour from the Roaring Twenties. It’s hard not to get swept up in the moment.
Michieletto creates a production that is quite simply unlike anything else in the world of opera. Fountains shoot jets of water into the air like champagne fountains, people crawl around on shards of mirror, and the entire lake scene is transformed into one huge, decadent dream world.
The visual experience is simply top-notch.
On the other hand, one might well debate whether *La Traviata* is the obvious choice for the Bregenz format. Verdi’s opera is, at its core, an intense chamber drama about falling in love, illness, and social exclusion. When only Violetta, Alfredo, and Germont are on stage, the gigantic set can at times seem strangely empty. As if the Bregenz machinery were constantly yearning for the next big spectacle.
The production’s most successful approach is, in fact, that Michieletto attempts in several places to go against the festival’s traditional penchant for nonstop spectacle. He focuses on the characters and their relationships. The only problem is that the enormous stage rarely gives him the space he needs to work undisturbed.
Photo: Anja Koehler
In contrast, things really pick up in the second act, where the usual party scene has been transformed into a decadent, circus-like jazz club. It’s a veritable parade of feather boas, dancers, vaudeville performers, and magicians.
The highlight is a Houdini-inspired magician who chains a woman inside a giant red suitcase and throws her into the lake right in front of the audience. (Spoiler: She survives.) It’s exactly this kind of crazy stunt that makes Bregenz so special.
The overall impression is absolutely spectacular. On the other hand, it’s sometimes difficult to really get a feel for the characters’ psychology. That’s the price you pay for a production that relies so heavily on its enormous stage sets, its choreographed crowd scenes, and its costumes—all of which have to be visible even to the audience in the very back rows.
Photo: Anja Koehler
All things considered, it’s hard not to be charmed. Five stars from *Det Sku’ Du Se* for this year’s Bregenz production, which will also run in 2027.
Despite a few elitist objections, this is precisely the kind of magnificent cultural experience that makes the trip worthwhile for a wide audience. An opera, a show, and a summer adventure—all in one package.
