La Traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, first performed in 1853 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. It tells the story of Violetta Valéry, a Parisian courtesan who gives up her life of pleasure for the love of Alfredo Germont, then sacrifices that happiness when the young man's father asks it of her. Based on La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, it is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world.
Act I. Paris, around 1850. At a party in her salon, the courtesan Violetta Valéry meets Alfredo Germont, a young man from the provinces who confesses a sincere love for her. Violetta, ill with tuberculosis, hesitates: his devotion touches her, yet she clings to her life of freedom. Alone at the end of the night, she wavers between the two impulses in the great scene "Ah, fors'è lui... Sempre libera".
Act II. Violetta and Alfredo are living together in the country near Paris. Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father, calls on Violetta and asks her to leave his son: the liaison threatens his daughter's marriage. Violetta accepts the sacrifice and departs without explanation. That same evening, at Flora's party, Alfredo humiliates her in public, throwing at her feet the money he has just won at the gaming table.
Act III. Months later, Violetta lies dying in her apartment, ruined and almost alone. A letter tells her that Germont has confessed the truth to his son. Alfredo arrives at last; the lovers dream of starting again in "Parigi, o cara", but it is too late: Violetta dies in his arms.
Verdi started from La Dame aux camélias, the novel and later play by Alexandre Dumas fils, inspired by the real courtesan Marie Duplessis. Putting a contemporary courtesan on stage was a bold step for the time. The premiere, on 6 March 1853 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, was a failure, partly because of the cast. Revised, the opera triumphed the following year in the same city and has never left the repertoire since.
The first act brings together the drinking song "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" and Violetta's scene "Sempre libera", with its feverish coloratura. The second act is remembered for Germont's aria "Di Provenza il mar, il suol" and above all for his long duet with Violetta, one of the most intense dialogues Verdi ever wrote. The third act opens with a string prelude of quiet sorrow and culminates in "Addio, del passato", Violetta's farewell to her past life.
La Traviata still moves audiences because it tells a simple story: a woman judged by society chooses love and pays the price. Verdi portrays her without moralising, in music that gives each emotion its proper time. It is also an excellent choice for anyone approaching opera for the first time.
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