Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
La Traviata (Highlights)
Opera in 3 Acts
Libretto: Francesco Maria Piave
Violetta Valéry - Monika Krause, soprano
Flora Bervoix - Rannveig Braga, mezzo-soprano
Annina - Ivica Neshybova, soprano
Alfredo Germont - Yordy Ramiro, tenor
Giorgio Germont, his father - Georg Tichy, baritone
Dottore Grenvil - Jozef Spacek, baritone
Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Rahbari, conductor
Giuseppe
Verdi's career spans three quarters of the nineteenth century. He was born in
1813 at Le Roncole, near Busseto, the son of a tavern-keeper, and distinguished
himself locally in music. The encouragement and patronage of his future
father-in-law, Antonio Barezzi, a merchant in Busseto, allowed him further
study in Milan, before returning to Busseto as maestro di musica. His
first venture into opera, a reasonably successful one, was in 1839 with Oberto.
This was followed, however, by the failure of Un giomo di regno, written
at a period when the composer suffered the death of his wife and two children.
His early reputation was established by the opera Nabucco, staged at La
Scala in Milan in 1842.
Verdi's
subsequent career in Italy was to bring him unrivalled fame, augmented by his
reputation as a patriot and fervent supporter of Italian national unity. His
name itself was treated as an acronym for the proposed monarch of a united Italy, 'Vittorlo Emanuele re d'Italia,' and much of his work in the period of unification
was susceptible to patriotic interpretation. His long association with the
singer Giuseppina Strepponi led to their marriage in 1859, the year of Un ballo
in maschera. He completed his last opera, FaIstaff in 1893, four
years before her death, but felt himself unequal to further Shakespearian
operas that were then proposed. He died while staying in Milan, early in 1901,
his death the subject of national mourning throughout Italy.
La
Traviata, first
produced in Venice in 1853, is based on a very different source, the play La
dame aux camelias by Alexandre Dumas fils. The French play, originally, in
1848, a novel, and dramatised in 1852, was the first significant success in the
theatre of Alexandre Dumas, the illegitimate son of the author of Le Comte
de Monte Cristo and Les trois mousquetaires. The piece was an
early example of theatrical realism, a movement with its parallel in the visual
arts and other branches of literature. This is seen in particular in the
dramatist's preoccupation with the contemporary position of the fallen woman, a
matter that was of continuing if occasionally saccharine interest to French
writers and composers for the rest of the century. The courtesan Marguerite
Gautier, the woman of the title, is in love with young Armand Duval, whose
father persuades her unselfishly to renounce him. Marguerite and Armand are
only reconciled when all is revealed, as the former lies dying. The story had
obvious appeal to Verdi, who was familiar with life in Paris. At the same time
it had at least hints of his own long-standing relationship with the singer
Giuseppina Strepponi, with whom Verdi lived in Paris in 1847 and who only
became his wife in 1859.
It was
during Verdi's stay in Paris that he received a commission from La Fenice, the Venice opera-house, for a new opera, following the success of Rigoletto. The
subject of the new French play La dame aux camelias was agreed upon,
with the censors only objecting to the proposed title Amore or morte,
for which La Traviata was substituted. Verdi was, meanwhile, busy
completing the score of II Trovatore, which was staged in Rome in January, 1853. Negotiations with Venice proved frustrating and La Traviata
was eventually mounted at La Fenice in March, with a cast that did not have the
composer's full approval. The result was not a complete disaster, but the opera
failed, at least, to make a favourable impression on the scale that Verdi might
normally have expected. The choice of a historical rather than contemporary
setting distanced the opera from modem reality, while further credibility was
sacrificed by the appearance of the first Violetta, Fanny Salvini-Donatelli,
who weighed in at 130 kilograms. A year later La Traviata was staged
again at a rival theatre in Venice, the Teatro Gallo, in a slightly revised
version, this time with the elegant singer Maria Piccolomini, who boasted
physical attractions that concealed well enough her lack of musical ability.
This time it enjoyed the success it deserved. By 1856 it had reached London and New York and has continued as a popular vehicle for some of the greatest
operatic singers.
The
libretto of La Traviata, by Francesco Maria Piave, then employed as poet
and stage manager at La Fenice and the author of some ten libretti for Verdi,
made necessary changes in the original play. The untranslatable title of the
opera, La Traviata, states unambiguously the nature of the heroine's
predicament: she is a fallen woman. In the opera Marguerite becomes Violetta,
and Armand Duval is transformed into Alfredo Germont, and there is what may be
seen as a shift of emphasis away from the authorial moralising of the young
man's father in the play to the tragedy of Violetta herself. The subtle changes
between play and libretto demonstrate Piave's ability as a poet of the opera.
The opera
opens with a Prelude [Track 1], including music that will re-appear with great
poignancy later. The curtain rises on a brilliant scene, a reception at the
house of the fashionable courtesan Violetta, who is talking to her friends when
Alfredo comes in, a distant admirer. He gallantly introduces a drinking-song
[Track 2], in which the whole company joins. Violetta falters for a moment, as
the rest of the company move into an adjoining room, and Alfredo takes the
opportunity to declare his love for her [Track 3], but she tells him not to
think of her, since she has only friendship to offer him. Left alone, however,
she begins to feel the power of true love, after a life of superficial pleasure
[Track 4]: perhaps Alfredo is the man her heart really desires. Then she pulls
herself together [Track 5], for she has always remained free to take her
pleasure where she will. The voice of Alfredo is heard from the garden below,
but she takes no heed of his declaration.
The second
act opens in a country-house near Paris, where Violetta and AIfredo have
established themselves [Track 6]. Alfredo, who has been out shooting, considers
the happiness of the last three months with his mistress. Annina, Violetta's
servant, tells him that her mistress is out, forced to sell property to pay for
the house. Alfredo is horrified [Track 7] and filled with remorse at his own
thoughtlessness. He rushes out, determined to prevent the sale. When Violetta
returns, she finds a visitor, Germont, Alfredo's father, who explains how her
relationship with his son damages the prospects of his innocent daughter [Track
8]. Violetta imagines that he only demands a temporary separation, but he
insists on a permanent parting, which she would rather die than allow.
Nevertheless he persuades her to this act of self-sacrifice, pointing out that,
as she grows older, Alfredo will tire of her. Persuaded by this reasoning,
Violetta agrees, asking only that Alfredo's sister be told of the sacrifice she
is making, one that will surely bring her death. Alone again, she sits down to
write a note making an assignation with Barone Douphol and another to her
lover, seeking words to express her feelings [Track 9]. Alfredo comes in and
she hides the letter, assuring him of her love and begging him never to stop
loving her, as she runs into the garden. Alfredo sits down and opens a book,
but a servant tells him that Violetta has left for Paris, leaving him a letter
that tells him that she has left him for ever. Germont tries to comfort him and
suggests he should now return home again [Track 10].
The second
act ends with a scene set in the house of Violetta's friend Flora Bervoix. Here
the guests are entertained by a group of masqueraders disguised as gypsy
dancers [Track 11]. AIfredo appears and reproaches Violetta, who has promised
not to reveal her reasons for leaving him and keeps her word. Germont leads his
son away.
The last
act is set in the poor quarters of Paris, where Violetta now lives. The music
of the Prelude to the act recalls the happier days of her love for Alfredo. She
is ill and the scene is in singular contrast to her earlier life. A letter from
Germont [Track 13] tells her that Douphol, the lover she had taken to convince
Alfredo of the finality of her action in leaving him, had been injured in a
duel with Alfredo, who has left the country. Now, however, learning of her
sacrifice, he is returning to beg her forgiveness. She looks in the mirror at
her changed features, and realises that she is near to death. Annina announces
a visitor, AIfredo, who embraces Violetta passionately [Track 14] and each now
assures the other of their love. He suggests that they should make a new life
for themselves away from Paris, where Violetta may recover and they may live
together in happiness. His promise comes now too late. Annina fetches the
doctor, returning also with Germont, who now understands that his action has
caused Violetta's death [Track 15]. Even weaker, she gives Alfredo a medallion
with her likeness, as she once was, and tells him to give it to the girl he
will marry, assuring them both of her prayers, once she is dead. To the gentle
sound of music associated with her earlier days of happiness, Violetta feels
sudden relief from pain and weakness, and with radiant happiness on her face,
falls dead in her lover's arms.
Keith
Anderson
