Tan Shou Chen

The ensemble dancing in a line on a tiled stage, a large suspended floral cheongsam hanging above them against a red wall, a white staircase at right

Verdi’s La Traviata (The Opera People, 2026)

About the Production

Singapore, 1961. Violetta Valéry is a celebrated hostess whose life revolves around glamorous parties, wealthy admirers and the pleasures of the city. At a gathering in her honour she meets Alfredo Germont, and begins to imagine a life beyond the social world she inhabits. But when his father arrives with a request, Violetta must decide what her love is worth, and who will ever know what it cost her.

Set in the year the first Women’s Charter was passed, this staging of Verdi’s La Traviata draws on Singapore’s entertainment culture of the 1960s, from the cabaret girls of New World and Great World to the clubs along Orchard Road. Directed by Tan Shou Chen with Lien Boon Hua as Music Director, and performed with the Wayfarer Sinfonietta in a reduced orchestration by Jonathan Lyness. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Performance Dates: 29 October – 1 November 2026, at the Wild Rice Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, Funan

Credits:

Presented by: The Opera People
Director: Tan Shou Chen
Music Director: Lien Boon Hua
Set Designer: TK Hay
Costume Designer: Johanna Pan
Lighting Designer: Adrian Tan
Movement Director / Choreographer: Yvan Karlsson
Hair & Makeup: Ashley Lim, Bobbie Ng
Rehearsal Pianist: Lim Chee Yap
Reduced Orchestration: Jonathan Lyness
Production Manager: Mirabel Neo
Stage Manager: Keira Lee
Assistant Stage Manager: Cristabel Ng
Orchestra: Wayfarer Sinfonietta

Violetta Valéry: Renata Hann Sungwon (29 & 31 Oct), Anna Migallos (30 Oct & 1 Nov)
Alfredo Germont: Jonathan Charles Tay (29 & 31 Oct), David Charles Tay (30 Oct & 1 Nov)
Giorgio Germont: Cao Yixiao
Flora Bervoix: Cherie Tse
Annina: Daniela Leska
Gastone: Jonathan Macpherson
Barone Douphol: Edward Kim
Marchese d’Obigny: Dennis Lau
Dottore Grenvil: Shawn Liew
Giuseppe: Ted Ngoo
Domestico / Commissionario: Y. Kwan
Ensemble: Akiko Otao, Lin Renyue, Alison Wong, Azura Farid

Director’s Notebook

The treatment for this production began with the 1961 Women’s Charter, and with the women in my own family who lived in the margins of marriage. Read the Director’s Notebook.

Programme:

La Traviata Programme Book (PDF) — includes the Director’s Message, full cast and creative team, synopsis and biographies.

Media:

Bakchormeeboy, 30 October 2026 (★★★★☆): Opera Review: Verdi’s La Traviata by The Opera People

Instagram: Review post

The ensemble dancing in a line on a tiled stage, a large suspended floral cheongsam hanging above them against a red wall, a white staircase at right
Violetta in a white gown and gloves, smiling, surrounded by partygoers in sarong kebaya, a tuxedo and evening dresses with arms outstretched
The ensemble crouching and dancing playfully across the stage, champagne glasses in hand, in colourful 1960s dress
Violetta, in white, singing to Alfredo in a white dinner jacket, seen through blurred flowers in the foreground
Violetta, seen from behind in a white shawl and gloves, holds a white camellia up to Alfredo, who looks on in a white dinner jacket
Violetta and Alfredo face each other amid the party crowd, her gloved hand resting on a camellia corsage on her wrist
Three guests on the balcony: two men in suits and a woman in a black lace mandarin-collar top and white brocade skirt, one man taking her hand
Two women in pink and black lace look down from the top of a white staircase at the crowd of guests below
A man in a green velvet jacket bows with his hand over his face while a man in a pinstripe suit glares to the side
Violetta, in pink, on her hands and knees as banknotes fall around her; Alfredo in a green velvet jacket stands over her while the party looks on
Seen from above, Violetta lies in an iron bed on a tiled floor while a woman kneels at her side, beside a table with a vase of white camellias

Photos by Wan Zhong Hao, courtesy of The Opera People.