MEDIA RELEASE February 2018 Verdi | Directed by Elijah Moshinsky | Conducted by Andrea Licata Sweetheart soprano Nicole Car returns to Australia for title role debut in La Traviata 1 March – 27 March | Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House Starring | Nicole Car | Ji-Min Park | Vitaliy Bilyy | Stacey Alleaume Award-winning Australian soprano, Nicole Car, will make a triumphant return to the Sydney Opera House this summer 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 crititcally 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. 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. Lavishly decorated sets and 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. 1 Or for seasoned opera-goers, the chance to revisit an old favourite with an exciting new cast. Creatives Performance information Conductor Andrea Licata Evenings at 7.30pm Director Elijah Moshinsky March 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 14, 20, 22, 24, 27 Revival Director Constantine Costi Saturday Matinees at 1pm Set Designer Michael Yeargan March 17 Costume Designer Peter J Hall Lighting Designer Nigel Levings Running time Approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes including two intervals Cast Sung in Italian with English and Simplified Violetta Valéry Nicole Car Chinese surtitles. Stacey Alleaume (Mar 3, 22) Alfredo Germont Ji-Min Park Bookings Giorgio Germont Vitaliy Bilyy Tickets from $46 (fees may apply) Flora Bervoix Dominica Matthews Group and concession prices available for Gastone John Longmuir most performances. Baron Douphol Adrian Tamburini Student Rush available for most Marquis d’Obigny Tom Hamilton performances: $50 (fees may apply) Doctor Grenvil Gennadi Dubinsky Opera Australia Box Office (02) 9318 8200 Annina Natalie Aroyan www.opera.org.au Giuseppe Jin Tea Kim Messenger Jonathan McCauley Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera Servant Malcolm Ede House With the Opera Australia Orchestra and Media enquiries Opera Australia Chorus Brock Goodhill | Senior Publicist 02 9318 8332 | 0400 285 799 [email protected] .