(Credit: Gerard Collett)

Theater St. Gallen is set to showcase Verdi’s “La Traviata” starting on March 19, 2022.

The showcase, which will be presented in the UMIBAU venue, will be directed by Nina Russi who has no intention of setting the opera in its original 19th-century milieu. Instead, she will present the opera in a newer time period noting in an official press statement that “Violetta is a modern and courageous woman. Just showing that she is a prostitute and has nothing else in her life is not enough for me.”

The opera will be conducted by Modestas Pitrenas. The cast will be headlined by Vuvu Mpofu and Tatjana Schneider, alternating the role of Violeta. As her lover Alfredo, audiences will hear Francesco Castoro and Pablo Bemsch. Finally, as Giorgio Germont, Kartal Karagedik and Leon Kosavic will alternate.

Other cast members include Jennifer Panara, Christopher Sokolowski, Riccardo Botta, Kristján Jóhannesson, Niccoló Paudler, Justin Hopkins, Paulo S. Medeiros, and David Maze.

The opera will run through June 9, 2022, for a total of 12 performances.