In Benoît Jacquots production Manets Olympia dominates the stage of the Opéra Bastille In 1863 the painting caused a scandal the prostitute awaits her client her expression proud her demeanour assured Is this Violetta Like Olympia Verdis most celebrated heroine surrenders to the spectator just as she surrenders to love going so far as to die on stage a womans ultimate sacrifice for her lover Or might it be the spectator who strips her bare and intrudes upon her privacy in the image of this milieu of social voyeurism Whatever the case these two women regard us with defiance and subjugate those who cannot help but look at them
WriterFrancesco Maria Piave
