The young Belgian director Tom Goossens has already made an impressive mark at OBV: he worked as an assistant director, created a family show and directed semi-staged concerts such as Die Fledermaus and Peer Gynt. He also directed his first large-scale opera productions at OBV, each of which was met with great success. It was written in the stars that a commission from a foreign opera house would not be long in coming. In 2025, Goossens made his international debut at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and created a new production of Verdi’s La traviata. He had already proven on several occasions that he dares to stage operas in their purest form – think of the minimalist set in which Goossens directed Don Giovanni in the 2025/26 season. In La traviata, too, he creates a universe in which ‘the director and the characters are given the opportunity to reflect on the core of the piece’, according to the leading magazine OPER!.

The vibrant nightlife in which La traviata is set gives way, in Goossens’ interpretation, to a stripped-down theatre space, with a large stage in the centre. Through openings in the surrounding walls, we catch a glimpse of the activity behind the scenes. Goossens reveals that what we wish to show of ourselves to one another is all too often a constructed performance. No matter how hard we try to keep up appearances, we can never fully control how others view us. Through gawking stares on and around the stage, Violetta, the main character, is confronted with this realisation. In the 26/27 season, Goossens recreates his production of La traviata for OBV, conducted by Elena Schwarz. Soprano Vuvu Mpofu, who enchanted the OBV audience in Lucia di Lammermoor, takes on the role of Violetta. Audience favourite Kartal Karagedik, known from productions such as Le nozze di Figaro, Les Pêcheurs de perles and Parsifal, is also a member of the cast.