One of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Verdi’s riveting drama was first seen in 1851 at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice. Together with his next two works, Il Trovatore and La Traviata, it formed the basis for the composer’s lasting success. For his new production, director Michael Mayer has moved the action from 16th-century Mantua to 1960s Las Vegas: “I tried to imagine a recent world that captures the decadence of the Duke’s palace, where the participants are in pursuit of power, money, and beauty,” he says. Las Vegas in the ’60s is such a world, where a kind of prankster energy could go bad.”