"Il Pigmalione" is a short opera that is rarely staged. In fact, this project's production found no record of it having been staged in Brazil to date. As such, it is not only a suitable title for introducing newcomers to the genre, but also an opportunity to move beyond the traditional repertoire. This project thus offers a rare chance to broaden audiences' knowledge regardless of their level of cultural background. By bringing an opera never before staged in the country, the project promotes renewal in a genre generally dependent on a limited repertoire, while still relying on the guaranteed quality of an established composer's music.
Renewal is also present in the staging. Directed by Antonio Ventura, a young Rio de Janeiro director with an emerging career in opera, the production not only introduces a new name in his first directing role for a major venue, but also brings an innovative reading of a traditional storyline. Through the transformation of the character Galatea into a digital avatar, the new version seeks to discuss the boundaries between the real and the virtual in internet-mediated relationships, both through the content and the form of the performance and its physical and digital ramifications. In an age of the metaverse and liquid relationships, contemporary loneliness will also be addressed. All of these are especially current themes following the Covid-19 pandemic and the isolation it caused. In addition, this new take has enormous potential to connect new "hyperconnected" audiences with opera as well.