Taranto Opera Festival presents Verdi's La Traviata in Puglia

The Taranto Opera Festival’s 2026 summer programme includes two high‑profile productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata in the Puglia region. On 1 August, the opera will be staged in the historic Atrium of the Oratory in Turi (Bari) under the direction of Maestro Ferdinando Redavid and stage director Luigi Travaglio, featuring soprano Laura Esposito as Violetta, tenor Nico Franchini as Alfredo, and a supporting cast that includes Cesare Kwon, Marcella Diviggiano and others. The event follows the festival’s earlier concert‑titled opening with the Four Italian Tenors and will conclude with the presentation of the 2026 Premio del Belcanto to soprano Rachele Stanisci on 3 August in Turi’s Piazza Gonnelli.

A day earlier, on 31 July, the Festival will present the same opera in the open‑air Arena of Villa Peripato in Taranto, also conducted by Redavid and staged by Travaglio. The Taranto cast mirrors the Turi lineup, with Esposito, Franchini and Kwon leading, supported by the Orchestra and Choir of the Taranto Opera Festival in collaboration with the Coro Tarenti Cantores. The performances are backed by the Municipality of Taranto, the Region of Puglia, the Italian Ministry of Culture and private sponsors, aiming to bring classic opera to a broad regional audience.