Coppola can 'get drunk on beauty' in Rome says Franceschini

(ANSA) - Rome, February 9 - Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said on Tuesday that American director and screenwriter Sofia Coppola would be able to "get drunk on beauty" when she comes to Rome to direct her first opera later this year. Coppola is due to make her operatic debut in May with a new production of Giuseppe Verdi's 'La Traviata' at Rome's opera house.
    "The director will be able to immerse herself and get drunk on beauty here," Franceschini said during a visit to the opera house.
    "Opera is the reason why Italy is desired, admired and watched in all the world," he said.
    The main costumes for the opera will be created by fashion designer Valentino, who came up with the idea for the new production along with Giancarlo Giammetti, honorary president of Valentino fashion house, in collaboration with the Rome opera house.
    Valentino has long been interested in the art of opera. He designed costumes for a lyric opera performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington in 1994, as well as the Valentino gala at the New York City Ballet and the New Year's Eve concert in Vienna.
    He invited Coppola to be part of the project after he saw her film Marie Antoinette in which the opera house said she showed significant aesthetic and musical awareness, and managed to balance classic and modern elements.