At this year’s In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the idea of putting on La Traviata becomes the show itself. Before the opera properly begins, three performers walk onstage carrying suitcases and questioning whether they are actually capable of taking on something as huge and iconic as Verdi’s masterpiece. What follows in Traviata: A Free Prose Opera is a playful mix of spoken theatre, opera, physical comedy, and meta-theatrical chaos that often works best when it fully embraces the fun of the concept.
Performed in Italian with English subtitles, the production reimagines the famous opera through a “show within a show” setup where the cast slowly step into the story while also commenting on the challenge of performing it. Written and directed by Andrea Caldi, Fabio Fassio and Elena Romano, the piece has a strong theatrical energy right from the start.
The opening was easily one of the strongest parts of the show. The performers used suitcases as props, scenery, and even platforms to jump and dance on, creating a fun, clown-inspired style of physical theatre that immediately pulled us in. There was a real sense of playfulness to the whole thing, especially when the performers interrupted scenes to joke about forgotten lines, difficult notes, or whether they were truly ready to perform the opera at all. Those self-aware moments gave the production its own identity and were often more engaging than the opera scenes themselves.
Saverio Bari, Andrea Caldi and Elena Romano performed very well together as an ensemble, slipping between different characters with simple costume changes, hats, and props. The transitions felt smooth and theatrical without becoming overcomplicated. There was also a clear level of care in the production design. The costumes looked great, the props were cleverly used, and the movement around the stage felt carefully planned while still playful and loose.
Where the production lost a little momentum for us was when it leaned too heavily into performing large sections of the opera itself. The original concept of three performers trying to stage La Traviata was genuinely clever, and we kept wanting the show to push further into that chaotic rehearsal energy. Some of the funniest and most interesting moments came when things almost fell apart, when the performers argued, stumbled, or commented on how difficult the material was. It felt like the production could have gone even further in that direction and become something really unique.
Technically, the show was ambitious. Much of the performance was delivered against full musical accompaniment without microphones, which required very careful timing between the spoken and sung sections. The coordination involved was notable, although at times the music felt a little too loud and occasionally overpowered the performers. Even so, the company’s professionalism and theatre experience were obvious throughout the show.
Traviata: A Free Prose Opera is an inventive and enjoyable piece of theatre that clearly comes from artists who love both opera and performance-making. While we wished it had trusted its comedy and theatrical framing even more, there was still plenty to admire in its creativity, visual style, and playful approach to a classic work.