La Scala, 7 December 2013: La Traviata

La Scala‘s new production of La Traviata left Giorgio Armani, and many others, feeling ‘perplexed’.

Dmitri Tch­er­niakov’s designs and direction got some hearty booing from the loggionisti in the gods, as did tenor Piotr Beczala and conductor Daniele Gatti, who gamely remarked afterwards that, “This is theatre at its best, when the audience can express its opinion about what it hears.”

Humm.

Applause was universal for Diana Damrau who, evidently nervous during the first act, warmed into her role. Mara Zampieri made a bizarre Ziggy Stardust Annina and Željko Lučić an insidious Germont.

Meanwhile, in the foyer the real drama of the evening was being carried out. Silicone versus taffeta: the gloves are off.

Here are some photos from around the theatre on 7 December 2013.

What the critics, audience members, director, musicians and singers said after the performance, you can read HERE.

Gramilano Editor

Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.