La Traviata-Handa Opera Sydney Harbour

I first saw La Traviata in Greece at the historical Odeon amphitheatre dating back 161 AD. It’s been hard to match any of my numerous opera experiences to the magic of that night but oh Sydney, you’ve done it. La Traviata by the Handa Opera on the Sydney Harbour was just mesmerising. Verdi’s compositions are incomparable and the cast and orchestra do his work utter justice. 

But it was the pageantry of watching the performance literally on the harbour that took my breath away. The show is set on a stage constructed on the water lit with an LED skyline of Paris pitched against the backdrop of Sydney’s shimmering cityscape including the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The star of the show is the 9 metre long grand chandelier weighing 3.5 tonnes and donning 10000 crystals-this year’s majestic centrepiece. As Violetta, dangling from the chandelier hit the last note of “sempre libera”, a defeaning silence fell over the audience; the only sounds that could be heard were the crashing of the waves against the stage. A truly enchanting spectacle. 

During this haze of the 2020s we’re living through at the moment, I feel so much gratitude to be able to experience an evening that combines art, culture, history, architecture, technology, and human perseverance and creates something so completely magnificent. Brava!