La Traviata, staged by Radu Poklitaru, is first and foremost a performance imbued with profound love for its great source – the eponymous opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Soaked in the beauty of Italian bel canto, the story of Violetta Valéry’s tragic love and death becomes a hymn to self-sacrifice, devotion, and resilience – qualities that only a Woman can fully embody.
It has been twenty years since the premiere of the ballet Carmen.TV, which marked the beginning of the Kyiv Modern-Ballet theatre. Both Carmen and La Traviata are symbols of all-conquering love. And though these two operatic heroines may seem utterly different at first glance, they share one essential trait – the courage to defend their right to love, even at the cost of their lives.
The ballet La Traviata is a romantic declaration of love for the art of opera, expressed through the language of contemporary choreography and direction. A complex multimedia video design, an intense light score, and original conceptual costumes come together to form a rich, multi-layered stage world that allows the audience to fully immerse themselves in this vibrant theatrical universe.
Premiere: 16 October 2025.
Radu Poklitaru is a masterful improviser, able to look at a well-known theme from a special angle and create such a creation that at the end of the performance the audience jumps up excitedly from their seats and switches to ultrasound from delight. The old "Traviata", reanimated by the maestro's daring thought, shook off the 173-year-old dust, refreshed, blossomed and started dancing.
Radu Poklitaru is one of the most famous figures in modern Ukrainian ballet. As a choreographer and founder of Kyiv Modern Ballet, he changed the way stage dance was conceived and introduced new forms to ballet. His approach combines the traditional and the modern, creating unique performances where every movement counts.
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