Academy Award winner Sofia Coppola is poised to make her operatic debut this May in Rome. News of her upcoming endeavor include an announcement that she will direct a new production of Verdi's classic La Traviata.
According to an announcement filed by the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, patron fashion designer Valentino Garavani invited Ms. Coppola to direct the production. Upon viewing her 2006 historical drama Marie Antoinette, Garavani thought Coppola more than qualified for the job.
Rome's opera house is considered the sister to its northern sibling in Milan, La Scala. As of late, the company has endured significant internal strife in dealing with financial loss, labor disputes and internal quarreling.
With that, the Roman theatre has been making a valiant effort to look past the series of damages caused by orchestra and chorus strikes over the last few years.
As of now, costumes will be designed by Garavani and the two designers who have succeeded him at the fashion house that still sports his likeness. It's been added, too, that there will be 15 shows from May 24 to June 30.
As per France 24, Traviata, based on an 1848 novel by Alexandre Dumas, tells the story of a courtesan who is wooed by a young provincial bourgeois and persuaded to abandon her wild life, until her fiance's father attempts to break up the couple.
For now, the new production should help bring some much needed interest back in the fledgling company. Perhaps Ms. Coppola is more than suited for the job, with her experience in film. Which won her an Oscar for Lost in Translation, her pivot to working on the stage should be an exciting new endeavor and continue alongside her career in film.
