The abridged cabaret version of Verdi’s tragic romance by Emotionworks will feature a professional pole dancer.

In a performance that for some will be a travesty and for others a triumph, a racy cabaret adaptation of Verdi’s La Traviata by opera company Emotionworks, will take over a Melbourne strip club later this week. After the success of a pilot season in 2013 at The Men’s Gallery on Lonsdale Street, director Julie Edwardson is upping the ante with her latest production, which for the first time will feature one of the club’s pole-dancers, Jewel Stone, performing alongside the singers.

Edwardson’s “cut” opera comes in at just 90 minutes, trimmed down to exclude “the boring bits.” The burlesque-infused performance will also feature jazz and blues standards alongside Verdi’s arias, in a production aimed at engaging with audiences who are new to opera by “taking this much-loved classic out of the theatre and presenting the story in a real-life contemporary setting.” As the production takes place outside of the club’s usual hours, under 25s and women are also welcome at the usually men-only venue.

It may be an unconventional stage for opera, but in many ways, it’s an extremely apt location to find the ill-fated heroine of Verdi’s tragic romance, the Parisian courtesan Violetta (who will be portrayed by soprano Justine Anderson ). Edwardson believes the informal surroundings help to make opera a less intimidating experience, as well as offering a new perspective on a tried and true favourite of the canon for more experienced operagoers. In an interview with The Age, pole-dancer Jewel Stone said she hoped the performances would help improve people’s appreciation of pole dancing as a legitimate art form, as well as breaking down some of the negative stigmas of being a performer in an adult club.

Emotionworks presents La Traviata, at The Men’s Gallery, July 16 – 31. 

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