Massive mirror onstage sheds new light on an old favorite, Chen Nan reports.

At the heart of the National Centre for the Performing Arts' production of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata lies an exquisite visual element: a giant mirror that dominates the stage. This stunning set piece, 260 square meters in size, serves not just as a backdrop, but also as a metaphor for the opera's central themes of illusion, self-deception, and the fragile line between the real and the imagined.

The mirror transforms the stage into a space where reality blurs into fantasy, mirroring the inner turmoil of Violetta, the opera's tragic heroine, whose life is a constant negotiation between love and sacrifice.

When Russian soprano Venera Gimadieva first saw the stage set, she was impressed and had hopes of one day playing the role of Violetta in the production.

"Finally, my dream has come true," said Gimadieva, sitting in her dressing room in Beijing on Monday. "It will be my 18th time playing the role."

The NCPA is staging its ninth production of La Traviata in Beijing, which runs until Sunday, with Gimadieva as Violetta. The China NCPA Orchestra and China NCPA Chorus will perform onstage, conducted by Yu Long.

She says that she was also drawn to the production's costumes, which are designed to reflect 19th-century Parisian society, adding an authentic touch to the depiction of the fashion and social norms of the time.

Verdi's 1853 work is one of the great operas. The central character Violetta is a mid-19th-century courtesan: freewheeling, attractive, and doomed. Fatally ill, she meets the affluent Alfredo, who confesses his love for her. They embark on an affair, but Violetta reluctantly abandons him under intense pressure from Alfredo's father. Alfredo feels betrayed but after a series of fateful twists and turns, the lovers reunite on Violetta's deathbed, and she finally succumbs, dying in the arms of the man she loves.