Valentino Garavani, Giancarlo Giammetti Create 'La Traviata' Opera

Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti's foundation is taking couture to the opera.

By Lucie Janik

Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti’s foundation is taking couture to the opera. A new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata,” created by the duo in collaboration with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, will premiere on May 24 and run through June 30. It will be directed by Sofia Coppola, whom the couturier tapped after watching her film “Marie Antoinette.”

The main character Violetta will wear costume designs by Garavani and these will be manufactured at the fashion house’s couture atelier. The clothes of Violetta’s friend Flora and of the chorus will be created by Valentino’s creative directorsMaria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioliin collaboration with the theater’s costume workshop.

Also on board is British production designer Nathan Crowley, whose previous work includes “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Night.” Jader Bignamini, associate director of the Verdi Orchestra in Milan will be responsible for the music.

This is not the first time Garavani has taken an interest in the opera. In 1994, he designed the costumes for an opera that was inspired by the late actor Rudolph Valentino and held at the Kennedy Center in Washington.