DETERMINED THAT LA VIDA CONTINÚA,, Madrid’s Teatro Real has been one of the only theatres in the post-Covid era to stage major productions with a complete orchestra and choir.
On the first of July 2020, Verdi’s La traviata opened the opera house’s 2020–2021 season, just days after the end of one of the most restrictive lockdowns in Europe, and as the country was mourning one of the then highest death tolls in the world.
With only ten days to rehearse and singers travelling from Austria, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and the United States, the theatre presented a semi-staged concert version conducted by Nicola Luisotti with 51 choristers and 56 musicians.
Scenographer Leo Castaldi marked the stage floor and walls with a 2×2-metre grid of squares, a reflection on the psychological imprisonment of both the lockdown and the opera’s characters themselves.
Opera attendee Iris Núñez-Trébol recalled: “There was great expectation. It felt very safe and organised. The theatre did a
