Verdi’s best-loved oeuvre, La Traviata, is being performed for this year’s Gaulitana: A Festival of Music.

The camellia, the flower associated with Violetta original plot by Alexandre Dumas, inspires this year’s stage design.

The event is an intrinsic feature of the OPERA+ Weekend, a 3-day cultural bonanza bringing the festival to a climactic end.

La Traviata boasts a stellar cast led by Ekaterina Bakanova, the mesmerising artist who shot to stardom as “a stunning Violetta” after her spectacular last-minute Covent Garden debut, and Francesco Meli billed “as probably the best Alfredo in terms of timbre and vocal expression.”

Piero Terranova, lauded for his “monumental” as Giorgio Germont interprets the role as he returns to Gozo following his “imposing authoritative” Amonasro last October.

The line-up is complemented by a number of international artists regularly performing in leading opera houses together with local signer Alan Sciberras and Louis Andrew Cassar.

Enrico Castiglione will once again direct the production, one of the most respected figures of his generation, Gaulitana said.

The opera, with English surtitles, will feature the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gaulitanus Choir under the baton of Colin Attard, one of the leading figures of the genre on the islands.

La Traviata will be held on Saturday, the 29th of April at the Aurora Theatre under the distinguished patronage of President George Vella.

Gaulitana: A Festival of Music, an EFFE Label awardee, is principally supported by the Investment in Cultural Organisations – Gozo of Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo.

Online booking is available on: www.teatruaurora.com or via the ticket helpline 7904 5779.

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