The Met is using the following press image for Natalie Dessay’s Traviata, opening tonight, with Hei Kyung Hong singing Violetta. When Natalie Dessay will sing in Natalie Dessay’s Traviata is still TBA.
This is the image the Met Press is using to advertise Ms. Desay's Traviata. Sorry for the quality. I cut it out of the newspaper and took the picture while it was taped to my wall.
While browsing through the Met archives, I saw this picture from Romeo et Juliette when I was a new production with Ms. Dessay as Juliette.
Ms. Dessay as Juliette
Now I know that many of you might be gasping for air as you realize these are the same images. Deep breaths. Many people may think that these images, which are EXACTLY the same are no big deal. For some reason I found this important. I don’t know why, but that’s just me. So here you have it. A FAKED Traviata press image… I think I might be making an overly big deal of this.
That’s just me.
Opera Teen 
Two thoughts, one, a correction, and one, an opinion.
One, when Natalie Dessay will sing Violetta is not “TBA”. It has “been announced” that she will sing every performance of “La Traviata”. All dates are on the Met website. She was ill for the opening.
Two, why do you find this such a huge deal. In the Willy Decker production, Violetta wears a semi-iconic red dress. This is quite close to what she will look like. Advertisers are known to do things like this ALL THE TIME! Why is this such a terrible thing?
Hi Opera Fan,
I am fully aware that Ms. Dessay will sing Violetta for the rest of the performances, including the HD transmission next weekend. I posted the “TBA” out of mere sarcasm. I am a Dessay fan, but I, as well as many other opera fans got suspicious when she cancelled the dress AND the prima.
Secondly, I just stumbled upon this going through the Met archives. I instantly noticed the similarities. I personally think the dress in the Decker Traviata is the symbol of the production. I just wanted to show the similarities. The “FAKED” comment was also out of sarcasm. I now this is a common advertising technique, but I just found it interesting to see where the previous image came from. I don’t know why I found this a big deal, but that’s just who I am.
I hope this cleared up your misconceptions and thanks for your input.
Happy listening,
Opera Teen
Suspicious that she cancelled the dress rehearsal and the opening night? Do you not believe that she is ill?
Well, the Met’s not the only opera company to release “fake” images. I remember when the LA Opera did “Orfeo ed Euridice” in 2003, they took a photo of star Vivica Genaux as Handel’s Ariodante and of co-star Maria Bayo as Mosart’s Suzanna, and put them together to make it look like an image of Orpheus glancing back at Eurydice. And right now on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s website, the image for their upcoming “Boheme” with Joseph Calleja and Anna Netrebko includes a pic of his Hoffmann mourning over her Antonia’s dead body (from the Met’s recent “Hoffmann”), with the obvious implication that it’s supposed to be Rodolfo mourning over Mimi.