The I-hate-opera-guide to La Traviata
© Philip Eisenbeiss for Opera Hong Kong 2022 By many counts, La Traviata is THE most frequently performed opera, beating out La Bohème, The Magic Flute and Carmen. It is certainly Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular work, and for good reason: It features sensational music and lives up to every cliché in opera: • • • • •
the soprano is the suffering and warm-hearted heroine the tenor is the romantic but hapless lover the baritone is the harsh and scheming killjoy the romance, of course, is bound to fail the soprano takes forever to die
Premiered in 1853, La Traviata boasts some of Verdi’s best music from his middle period (which encompasses Rigoletto, La Traviata and Il Trovatore) and was key to catapulting Verdi to fame. • •
It’s not a very long opera, at just a little over two hours. Three short-ish acts and you’re done And with this great guide, you can learn everything you need to know about La Traviata in less than 30 minutes! If you prepare, you will enjoy it much more
Characters and Plot •
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Violetta Valery is a Parisian courtesan (today we’d call her an ‘escort’). She is the titular Traviata, a fallen woman; a woman who veered off the path of righteousness. She has a heart of gold but her lungs are in trouble. She suffers from tuberculosis. Alfredo Germont is the dashing young lover from a bourgeois provincial family who enjoys Parisian nightlife. He meets Violetta and is completely smitten. Giorgio Germont is Alfredo’s father. He disapproves of his son’s liaison with a courtesan as it throws the entire family into disrepute. He convinces Violetta to break off the relationship with Alfredo.