LA TRAVIATA

OPERA IN THREE ACTS BY GIUSEPPE VERDI

FIRST ACT

Photos © Matthias Stutte 2024

PRODUCTION

Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach
Intendant: Michael Grosse
Premiere: 15. September 2024

Conductor: GMD Mihkel Kütson
Stage director and set designer: Michiel Dijkema
Costume designer: Tatjana Ivschina
Dramaturgy: Andreas Wendholz
Light design: Susann Förster
Chorus master: Michael Preiser

Violetta Valéry: Sophie Witte / Sofia Poulopoulou
Alfredo Germont: Woongyi Lee
Giorgio Germont: Johannes Schwärsky
Flora Bervoix: Eva Maria Günschmann / Bettina Schaeffer
Annina: Anne Heßling / Lisa Kaltenmeier-Kahraman
Baron Douphol: Rafael Bruck / Jeconiah Retulla
Marquis d’Obigny: Hayk Deinyan / Gereon Grundmann
Gaston: Arthur Meunier / Ramón Mundin
Dr. Grenvil: Matthias Wippich

Niederrheinische Sinfoniker
Opera chorus of the Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach
Extras of the Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach

PRESS QUOTES

“a movingly dark ending”

“Michiel Dijkema finds a movingly dark ending for La traviata […] Felicitous start of the season in Mönchengladbach: A beautiful, scenically coherent and ultimately touching Traviata [...] an impressive role portrait. Dijkema shows the society in which she moves as highly sexualized [...] Parallels to the present do shine through, as actually the whole ‘historical’ approach is pleasantly clear in its reduction and does not seem museum-like at all.”

OMM
Stefan Schmöe
16 September 2024

“a completely gripping, enlightening production”

“The premiere shows the strengths of an artistically convincing production. This was evident in the striking vitality of the party scènes in the first and second act. Or, as a contrast, in the third act, in the agonizingly slow dying process of the leading actress, in the grey-black area of ​​the front stage, that belongs solely to her […] a powerful portrayal of personal and social fragility, of respectability, contradiction, decency, intolerance, incomprehensible morality of the Parisian demimonde. […] a completely gripping, enlightening production”

Rheinische Post
Helmut Klösges
16 September 2024

“authentic, emotional, and never feels like a museum piece”

“A truly outstanding Traviata [...] The production need not fear comparison […] it was rightly celebrated by the audience in the fully packed auditorium with rapturous standing ovations […] This Traviata dies completely alone. That hurts even more than usual. Perhaps that is why this staging is so powerful. Such music theatre builds a harmonious bridge between past and present, remaining authentic, emotional, and never feels like a museum piece. Bravo!”

Westdeutsche Zeitung
Christian Oscar Gazsi Laki
6 October 2025

“staged so well that one would gladly see this production more than once”

“It comes as a welcome surprise that the Krefeld theatre auditorium, on a day without a subscription performance scheduled, is completely filled, apart from a few seats at the very edges. The successful production by Michiel Dijkema has certainly contributed to this […] The third act is a particular highlight of the production. While the Parisian carnival rages outside, Violetta bids farewell to life and, tormented by feverish dreams, longs for the arrival of her beloved Alfredo. The way she ultimately dies entirely alone, without being able to see Alfredo once more, is staged so well by Michiel Dijkema that one would gladly see this production more than once. […] All opera lovers who have not yet seen this production are warmly encouraged to attend.”

Der Opernfreund
Markus Lamers
13 November 2025

“dramatic confrontation with death”

“With La Traviata, Dutch director Michiel Dijkema made his directorial debut at Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach and staged a Verdi opera for the first time. […] Michiel Dijkema is a director of compelling opera productions. He has no interest in altering or deconstructing the works; instead, he wants to tell their stories and move his audience. And that is precisely what his production of La Traviata achieves. […] Dijkema also designed the set for his La Traviata. A huge, fractured, forward-leaning square mirror dominates the stage throughout all three acts. Its crack may be seen as a symbol of fragility […] The production places Violetta firmly at its centre, and Greek soprano Sofia Poulopoulou is outstanding in the title role. For two and a half hours she is on stage almost without interruption, giving voice to every facet of the role with complete commitment: the energetic, intoxicating spirit of the first act, the passionate yet lyrically expressive embrace – and ultimately renunciation – of true love in the second, and the alternately vulnerable and dramatic confrontation with death in the final act. We see, hear and feel the authenticity of Violetta's love and the way she faces death. Sofia Poulopoulou conveys Violetta's life, love and suffering with compelling emotional truth. […] A magnificent La Traviata. A superb achievement by Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach.”

Opera Nederland
Nomen Nescio
7 October 2025

“emotional depth […] psychologically meticulously conceived”

“Emotional depth […] Dijkema’s production appears Spartan, yet it is psychologically meticulously conceived and ultimately impresses with an idea that is as simple as it is effective. […] The stage is dominated by a large mirror at the back, fractured in several places – a symbol of Violetta’s fragile reality. She carries the final third act almost entirely on her own. Dijkema has Violetta give her last breath in front of a scrim. Behind it, only a brief carnival scene flickers into view. Her lover Alfredo and his father also remain behind the scrim, unseen. In this way, Dijkema turns their supposed return into the fever dream of a dying courtesan – a bold yet entirely plausible stroke. […] a production that brings out the drama of the story through subtle but significant accents.”

Oper! Magazin
Oper! Kurzkritik
Guido Krawinkel
6 October 2025

RP THEATER PRIZE 2026

Michiel Dijkema was awarded the Rheinische Post Theater Prize 2026 in the Music Theater category for his production of La traviata at the Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach.