An adapted version of Italian composer Verdi's classic La Traviata will have its Greater Bay Area debut at the Guangdong Arts Theatre in Guangzhou from September 17-21, opening the 2025 Greater Bay Area Music Performances festival, a months-long cultural feast to be held later in the city.
This reimagined La Traviata is a fusion of Western opera and Eastern performance techniques, as stated in a press briefing to publicize the event on Friday (June 6). Artistically directed by China's celebrated tenor Dai Yuqiang and produced by a music conservatory in North China's Henan Province, the production transforms Parisian tragedy into a cross-cultural dialogue, incorporating techniques from Henan's traditional Yu Opera—most notably "water-sleeve" movements—while executing the famously demanding six consecutive High C notes in the "Sempre libera" section.
The staging merges Versailles-inspired Rococo grandeur with China's Taoist minimalist setting. Holographic projections and mirrored sets will be used to recreate 19th-century Paris, while a central camellia tree—symbolizing fleeting time and life—sheds precisely 12 petals per minute, synchronized with Verdi's score. Musical innovation extends to the orchestration, where Henan Yu Opera's sliding vocal techniques influence string arrangements in the production.
Adaptation will also be applied to the storyline to provide contemporary female perspectives through modern interpretations of "The Lady of the Camellias."
A mature stage performance ecosystem thrives in Guangdong
Dai highlighted the region's advantageous theatrical landscape as a reason he chose Guangdong as the cast's third destination on tour.
Director of the adapted La Traviata, Dai Yuqiang is a renowned tenor, vocal theorist, and educator, as noted in the press briefing.
"Guangdong's integrated performance ecosystem—encompassing a large number of devoted audiences, sufficient performing venues, and China's largest concentration of stage equipment manufacturers—creates the essential foundation for grand opera," he said, citing a dedicated operatic following in Guangdong throughout his career to illustrate the region's comparatively high theatrical literacy.
Director Dai Yuqiang briefed the main cast of the adapted La Traviata for the media.
Having debuted as a soloist in Guangzhou decades ago, Dai remarked on how the province deserves to be a major power in the country's cultural industry.
Only economically vibrant regions can support grand opera productions like this, as Guangdong’s audiences have a deep appreciation for the art form, and most of China’s theatrical equipment manufacturers—80-90% of stage lighting and sound systems—are based here, Dai noted. Starting from Guangdong, he also aims to take the show to the world stage.
Director Dai Yuqiang performed a section with the La Traviata heroine cast during the press briefing.
The Greater Bay Area Music Performances festival is a cultural carnival held in Guangzhou, featuring a diverse lineup of musical activities, including contemporary music performances, traditional folk showcases, and opera. In 2024, the event hosted 46 performances, attracting 165,000 audiences and 2 billion online engagements.
Reporter | Huang Xinyi
Photo | Guangdong Arts Theatre
Editor | Ouyang Yan, Hu Nan, James, Shen He
