Supporting the next generation through our creative partnership with Arts University Bournemouth

We're excited that our creative partnership with Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) is once again providing valuable experience to young people both on and behind the stage.

As a registered arts charity, Hurn Court Opera exists to champion rising opera stars at the beginning of their careers, providing them with training and performance opportunities. We are almost entirely self-funded, relying on ticket sales, donations and sponsorship.

Costume collaboration

Following a successful collaboration during our production of Rossini's La Cenerentola last year, third year students of AUB’s BA (Hons) degree in Costume are creating more than 25 costumes for this year’s production of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata. The opera opens in theatres across Dorset and Hampshire this April.

La Traviata is a timelessly tragic tale of love, loss and societal expectation, telling the story of Violetta, a high-class courtesan and her passionate love affair with the young nobleman, Alfredo. Based on the novel La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas and originally set in 19^th century Paris, the opera receives a 1930s makeover in our production. 

An Art Deco twist

"Setting La Traviata in Paris in the 1930s renders it easier to have on the stage of the regional theatres we visit. All those 19^th century crinolines would take up so much space!" explains Theatre Director, Joy Robinson. "So, it’s from a practical point of view that we are moving it to the thirties - but it’s also a time when we can still convey that notion of the ‘kept woman’ and that feeling of being in a demi-monde, a world living in the shadows.

“The beauty of our collaboration with AUB is that we have a team of incredibly talented young costume makers behind the stage supporting an equally talented cast of young performers on stage. We can't wait for our audiences to see the costumes when La Traviata opens in April - they are going to look absolutely stunning!"

AUB Senior Lecturer, Wayne Martin, says, "Our BA (Hons) Costume degree teaches the mastery of couture, professional costume making, tailoring and supervision for both film and theatre. Working to a ‘live’ brief from Hurn Court Opera, our third year costume students have had a wonderful opportunity to create 1930s ‘Arts Deco’ costumes as well as collaborate with young artists from the world of opera."

When and where to catch La Traviata

La Traviata opens at The Regent in Christchurch on 16 April, followed by performances at The Coade Hall, Bryanston on 18 April and Theatre Royal, Winchester on 20 April. The cast of rising opera stars includes Caroline Taylor as tragic heroine Violetta, Sam Britner as Alfredo and Philip Kalmanovitch as Giorgio, Alfredo’s disapproving father.

Featuring the timelessly beautiful music of Giuseppe Verdi and themes that are still painfully relevant today, La Traviata is perfect for both seasoned opera fans and those experiencing opera for the first time. It is a fully staged production with orchestra conducted by Lynton Atkinson, and sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Booking links for all theatres

Students from Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) have made the costumes for our production of La Traviata