La traviata

Violetta’s story has inspired unforgettable scenes in films, from the musical, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to the film, Pretty Woman, in which Vivienne (played by Julia Roberts) is moved to tears by Verdi’s opera.

In January 1847, a young woman named Marie Duplessis (born Alphonsine Rose Plessis) lay dying of consumption at 11 Boulevard de la Madeleine in Paris. She had recently turned 23 and was the most fashionable courtesan in Paris, who serviced the city’s bourgeoisie, upper classes, artists, writers and musicians. Within a year of Duplessis’ death, Alexandre Dumas fils had written La Dame aux camélias. Dumas fils and Duplessis had been lovers for 11 months. The novel instantly took Paris by storm, not least because of its candid, unapologetic portrayal of forbidden pleasures and vices. On 2 February 1852, almost five years to the day since her death, Dumas’ dramatic adaptation of La Dame aux camélias received its premiere at the Vaudeville. It was almost certainly through this that Guiseppe Verdi and his companion, the singer Giuseppina Strepponi, first encountered the story.

The champagne is flowing at the Parisian parties in Act I of La traviata. Brindisi is the Italian translation for 'a toast' but this musical highlight is often translated as 'The Drinking Song'. There is a cheerfulness throughout, of course, but also a hint of drama. In Alfredo's first verse he toasts to love: 'Libiam ne'dolci fremiti che suscita l'amore' (Let's drink to the sweet tremours aroused by love). Violetta, on the other hand, offers her toast to pleasure: 'Godiam, fugace e rapido, è il gaudio dell'amore' (Let us enjoy ourselves, for the delight of love is fleeting and quick). Although subtle, we see where their interests lie; Alfredo in pure love, while Violetta feels the pull of pleasure.

It is thanks to Violetta’s goodness, charm and most of all her likeableness that La traviata is one of Verdi’s most treasured operas – and one of his most heartbreaking. From the very opening of the opera we realize Violetta is sick. The party she throws in Act I is in part a celebration of her return to society after illness forced her away. Her first intimate encounter with Alfredo occurs when a sudden faint leaves her too weak to dance with her guests. But we, like Alfredo, are intoxicated by the brilliance of her singing, her witty rebuffs to his entreaties and her virtuoso aria ‘Sempre libera’ ('Always free').

Verdi's sublime score contains some of his most inspired arias and duets, including Violetta's introspective 'Ah fors'è lui' (‘Could it be him’) as she contemplates falling in love, before celebrating her independence in the spectacular ‘Sempre libera' (‘I must always be free’). We hear the latter aria in the film Pretty Woman as Vivienne (played by Juliet Roberts) is moved to tears at the opera. The Brindisi drinking song in Act I has also featured in adverts and flash mobs – memorably in a Heineken campaign, and in viral pop-up performances.

La traviata runs from 7–21 September 2024. There are many other ways to watch: