The Lisbon Traviata

Stephen Henry directs Terrence McNally’s The Lisbon Traviata.

Opera buff Mendy begs his friend Stephen to let him borrow his copy of a pirated Maria Callas recording of "La Traviata". Stephen delights in showing off his expertise while dodging his friend’s entreaties. Both, it seems, are trapped within opera, with its grand but contrived passions, which become a neurotic substitute for real life. Later, in Stephen’s starkly modern department, reality arrives with stunning force as Stephen confronts his partner, Mike, and his new lover, Paul, while trying to salvage his dying relationship.