Opera

La Traviata at La Scala: the price of freedom

Violetta returns in Liliana Cavani’s legendary production. From the legend of Callas to 300 performances at La Scala, a story of love, sacrifice and freedom

29 September 2026

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(ph Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala)

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

‘I must always be free to revel, from joy to joy.’ And yet, Violetta’s freedom will be short-lived. Perhaps this is precisely where the magic of La Traviata lies: in the painful gap between the freedom she longs for and the life she is granted, between the glitz of the parties and a loneliness that Verdi transforms into music. From 19 September to 15 October 2026, *La traviata* returns to La Scala in Liliana Cavani’s historic production, with sets by three-time Oscar winner Dante Ferretti, costumes by Gabriella Pescucci, lighting by Andrea Giretti and choreography by Micha van Hoecke. Michele Gamba takes to the podium, returning to Verdi’s works following his 2022 production of *Rigoletto* at La Scala.

Violetta, a woman in society

For Cavani, this is first and foremost a social work. Verdi holds up a mirror to a society he knew well. Violetta was born into poverty, at a time when women had little opportunity to choose their own destiny. Surrounding her, rich and powerful men could afford freedoms that the very same world transformed, for a woman, into guilt and judgement. Even the title bears the mark of that condemnation: ‘traviata’ referred to a woman who had strayed from the path considered righteous. Violetta thus becomes a woman led astray, above all, by her own fate. And the distance from the nineteenth century shrinks, because certain inequalities, in different forms, still persist in the present.

Nadine Sierra ph Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala

When love changes the rules

The world around her revolves around money and appearances. Relationships are based on convenience and social standing. Then Alfredo arrives. True love disrupts an order that seemed immutable, and Violetta discovers a feeling capable of changing her outlook on life just as her fate draws to a close. The sacrifice demanded by Giorgio Germont brutally brings the weight of society back into their story; she renounces Alfredo and personally pays the price for the respectability of others. Even the stage design conveys this tension. The courtyard, the open air, the desire to escape the confines of the rooms become a need for breathing space and freedom, whilst the Chorus observes and interacts, almost transforming society itself into a character.

From Dumas to Verdi

The story has its origins in The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas the Younger, featuring Marguerite Gautier, a character inspired by the real-life courtesan Marie Duplessis. In Francesco Maria Piave’s adaptation of the libretto, Verdi imbues Violetta with an even more pronounced theatrical force. Violetta loves, makes decisions, sacrifices herself and, just when her illness renders her most fragile, attains a grandeur that towers above the world that has judged her.

Three Hundred Times La Traviata

Liliana Cavani’s legacy is now an integral part of Piermarini’s history. It began in 1990 at the instigation of Riccardo Muti, when La traviata returned to La Scala after a twenty-six-year absence: the last production had been in 1964, with Herbert von Karajan, Mirella Freni and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. However, the history of this production at La Scala continued to be overshadowed by the legend of the iconic performances of 1955 and 1956, featuring Maria Callas, Luchino Visconti and Carlo Maria Giulini. And, curiously, it came about almost by chance. Cavani recounts that it all began one summer’s night in 1989, on a motorboat with Maestro Muti and his wife Cristina. The boat collided with another vessel and, whilst they waited for a long time, Muti told her that he was to conduct La traviata at La Scala and suggested she take on the role of director. Cavani was barely familiar with the opera; she had seen it only once, as a young girl in Carpi. And yet, she accepted. A chance encounter out at sea that gave rise to a production destined to stand the test of time.

On 26 September, La traviata will reach a total of 300 performances at La Scala since its Milanese debut in 1859, whilst on 2 October, Cavani’s production will reach its 100th performance. Today, the highly anticipated Nadine Sierra and Francesca Pia Vitale take up the mantle of Violetta. Alfredo is played by Piero Pretti and Iván Ayón Rivas, Giorgio Germont by Boris Pinkhasovich and Amartuvshin Enkhbat, accompanied by the Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet Company of La Scala.