“Bring out the personal side of the French courtesan – the party girl used to the social scene. It’s a very feminine world that I love”.
Fresh out of her acclaimed success at Cannes where she became the second women in history to earn the festival’s Best Director prize with The Beguiled. Sofia Coppola is already on the release of her newest and most surprising project to date.
Specialist in the field of “psychologically isolated women”, Coppola has taken on one the opera’s most famous lady, Violetta from La Traviata and adapted it to the screen. Giuseppe Verdi‘s most performed opera, La Traviata, revolves around the tragic fate of the young and beautiful Parisian courtesan.
In collaboration with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Coppola’s performance film was unveiled last weekend in a special preview performance. The numbers speak for themselves as all 15 performances are already sold out.
Costumes and gorgeous black and red gowns are brought by no other than Valentino, whereas, Batman‘s Nathan Crowley deals with the set design.
On venturing in this new artistic adventure, Coppola simply replied: “I thought what an incredible experience to be able to work in the Rome opera house with the beautiful costumes and the team here, so that motivated me to take a chance and do something that was scary and very unfamiliar”.
Coppola may be venturing in “unfamiliar” territory but the opera culture does run in her family. The director admitted her great uncle had conducted La Traviata in the past and she was able to sit down with him before and throughout the production.
Ahead of her time, neglected or lost soul, who knows where Coppola’s Violetta will lie but for mixing Cinema, Opera and Haute Couture, Coppola should definitely be praised for trying something different!
La Traviata is set for release in the UK on July 9. The Beguiled will also hit US theatres on June 23rd and July 14th in the UK.
#Peace.Love.LaTraviata
