Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: La Traviata

This breathtaking production by Opera Australia is performed with Sydney Harbour as the dazzling backdrop.

Witness the joy and heartache of the world’s most popular opera on Sydney’s spectacular harbour, as fireworks light up the sky and a giant chandelier shimmers over the stage.

In La Traviata, the story that inspired Moulin Rouge, Stacey Alleaume plays Violetta, scaling the thrilling heights of Verdi’s score, opposite tenor Rame Lahaj as Alfredo, the man Violetta falls dangerously in love with.

Verdi’s score offers flying melodies, rousing drinking songs and heartbreaking duets. Brian Castles-Onion conducts the opera, with a live orchestra hidden under the stage.

From the vivacious chorus of the famous ‘Brindisi’ to Violetta’s soaring ‘Sempre libera’ and the breathless notes at the opera’s tragic end, Verdi’s music for La Traviata is a thrilling, emotional experience.

In 2021, La Traviata returned to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage, with Constantine Costi directing the production based on celebrated director Francesca Zambello’s original 2012 production.

The original set by Brian Thomson was revived, complete with the breathtaking nine-metre-high chandelier, and a new Paris skyline set against the stunning backdrop of Sydney Harbour. The biggest scenes feature 70 performers on stage and party boats in the harbour.

'It's the perfect potion — the glitzy visuals and hyperactive energy of a Broadway musical mixed with world-class opera'
– Time Out

Duration 130 minutes
Musical style Opera
Producer Opera Australia
Conductor Brian Castles-Onion
Director Constantine Costi
Sets Brian Thomson
Main Actor Stacey Alleaume
Main Actor Rame Lahaj
Language Italian