Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ to be staged Dec. 31 and Jan. 2

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First Coast Opera will present Verdi’s “La Traviata” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31 and 2 p.m. Jan. 2 in Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St., in St. Augustine. Tickets are available at firstcoastopera.com.

Featuring one of the most iconic, romantic and tragic scores of all time, Verdi’s masterpiece contrasts spectacular party scenes with tender, intimate moments.

“La Traviata” tells the story of the tragic love between the courtesan Violetta and the romantic Alfredo Germont. Played out against the hypocrisy of upper-class fashionable society, their love threatens to shame his family. When his father directly appeals to Violetta to relinquish her one chance of happiness, Violetta submits, and her act of self-sacrifice leads to her paying the ultimate price.

First Coast Opera’s artistic director, Curtis Tucker, will conduct the orchestra. He joined First Coast Opera in 2014 after staging pro­ductions with Opera Memphis, Mobile Opera, Fresno Grand Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, the University of North Florida Opera Theater and the University of Mobile Opera Theater. Helena Binder is stage director, having directed the 2017 First Coast Opera production of “Madama Butterfly.”

The cast includes Shannon Kessley Dooley as Violetta Valery; tenor Jose Simerilla Romero as Alfredo Ger­mont; baritone Joshua Jeremiah as Giorgia Germont; Dan Altman as Barone Douphol; Tyler Putnam as Marquis d’Obigny; Sarah Nordin as Flora Bervoix; Michael Palmisano as Gastone; and Anthony Offerle as Doctor Grenvil; along with an ensemble of singers and performers.

This is a fully staged opera with live orchestra.

Tickets are $60 for the Dec. 31 performance, which includes cham­pagne during the two intermissions of this three-act performance. Tickets are $50 for the Jan. 2 matinee.

All student’s and children’s tickets are $10.

Tickets are available at firstcoastopera.com or by calling 904-417-5555.

Founded in January 2000, First Coast Opera serves Northeast Florida’s First Coast region through a series of concerts and staged productions of operas and operettas. Based in St. Augustine, performances feature guest artists from throughout the United States performing alongside local and regional talent.

For further information, go to firstcoastopera.com or call 904-417-5555.