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La traviata

La traviata (The Fallen Woman) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La Dame aux camélias (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas fils, which he adapted from his own 1848 novel. The opera was originally titled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at La Fenice opera house in Venice.

Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer's and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged. La traviata has become immensely popular and is among the most frequently performed of all operas.

Composition history
For Verdi, the years 1851 to 1853 were filled with operatic activity. First, he had agreed with the librettist Salvadore Cammarano on a subject for what would become Il trovatore, but work on this opera could not proceed while the composer was writing Rigoletto, which premiered in Venice in March 1851. In addition, personal affairs in his home town limited his activities that spring, but after Rigoletto's success in Venice, an additional commission was offered by Brenna, the secretary of La Fenice.

Verdi sees The Lady of the Camellias play
Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi visited Paris from late 1851 and into March 1852. In February the couple attended a performance of Alexander Dumas fils's The Lady of the Camellias. As a result of this, Verdi's biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz reports, the composer immediately began to compose music for what would later become La traviata. However, Julian Budden notes that Verdi had probably read the Dumas novel some time before, and, after seeing the play and returning to Italy, "he was already setting up an ideal operatic cast for it in his mind", shown by his dealings with La Fenice.

Composing for Venice
Francesco Maria Piave was engaged to write the new libretto and the two men tried to come up with a suitable subject, but the composer complained that his librettist "had not yet offered him an 'original' or 'provocative' idea". Writing to Piave, he added that "I don't want any of those everyday subjects that one can find by the hundreds." But at the same time, the composer expressed concern about censorship in Venice, something with which he was very familiar after his dealings with the censors concerning Rigoletto. As the months dragged on into October, it was agreed that Piave would come to Sant'Agata (Verdi's home near Busseto) and work with the composer. One subject was chosen, Piave set to work, and then Verdi threw in another idea, which may have been La traviata. Within a short time, a synopsis was dispatched to Venice under the title of Amore e morte (Love and Death). However, Verdi wrote to his friend De Sanctis telling him that "for Venice I'm doing La Dame aux camélias which will probably be called La traviata. A subject for our own age." Although still bogged down at Sant'Agata, Piave was sanguine: "Everything will turn out fine, and we'll have a new masterpiece from this true wizard of modern harmonies".

When back at Sant'Agata in late January 1853 Verdi was reminded that his contract called for him to be in Venice within a week or two and for the premiere to be held on the "first Saturday in March 1853". However, it soon became clear that a modern-dress staging of the new opera was impossible—the requirement was that it should be set in the 17th century "in the era of Richelieu"—and reports from the opening of the season confirmed the limitations of the chosen soprano, the 38-year-old Fanny Salvini-Donatelli for taking the role of Violetta. Verdi was distraught, for he held on to the notion that the opera could be staged in modern dress—as Stiffelio had been done—Piave was sent back to Sant'Agata to no avail: he could not persuade the composer to back down on his insistence that another soprano be secured, yet the 15 January deadline for securing one had come and gone. Verdi was filled with premonitions of disaster upon his arrival in Venice on 21 February for rehearsals and he made his unhappiness clear to the singers.

Performance history
The audience jeered at times during the premiere, directing some of their scorn at the casting of soprano Fanny Salvini-Donatelli in the lead role of Violetta. Though she was an acclaimed singer, they considered her to be too old (at 38) and overweight to credibly play a young woman dying of consumption. (Verdi had previously attempted to persuade the manager of La Fenice to re-cast the role with a younger woman, but with no success.) Nevertheless, the first act was met with applause and cheering at the end; but in the second act, the audience began to turn against the performance, especially after the singing of the baritone Felice Varesi and the tenor Lodovico Graziani. The next day, Verdi wrote to his friend Emanuele Muzio in what has now become perhaps his most famous letter: "La traviata last night a failure. Was the fault mine or the singers'? Time will tell."

Coincidentally, as Philips-Matz points out, an Italian translation of the play La Dame aux camélias was being presented just a short distance from La Fenice.

While there were demands for productions from impresarios in various Italian cities, Verdi was loath to allow them unless he could be sure of the strength of the singers, and in spite of their pleas, the composer refused. As Budden notes, it came to be Venice "that made an honest woman of Violetta" when Verdi allowed a performance at the Teatro San Benedetto. Some revisions took place between 1853 and May 1854, mostly affecting acts 2 and 3, but the opera was performed again on 6 May 1854 and was a great success, largely due to Maria Spezia-Aldighieri's portrayal of Violetta. "Then [referring to the La Fenice performances] it was a fiasco; now it has created a furore. Draw your own conclusions!" reported Piave (who had overseen the production in Verdi's absence).

The opera (in the revised version) was first performed in Madrid on 1 February 1855 with Spezia-Aldighieri at Teatro Real, in Vienna on 4 May 1855 in Italian and in Barcelona on 25 October at Gran Teatre del Liceu. It was first performed in England on 24 May 1856 in Italian at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, where it was considered morally questionable, and "the heads of the Church did their best to put an injunction upon performance; the Queen refrained from visiting the theatre during the performances, though the music, words and all, were not unheard at the palace". It was first performed in the United States by the Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company on 3 December 1856 in Italian at the Academy of Music in New York. George Templeton Strong noted in his diary: "People say the plot's immoral, but I don't see that it's so much worse than many others, not to speak of Don Giovanni, which as put on the stage is little but rampant lechery", while the Evening Post critic wrote: "Those who have quietly sat through the glaring improprieties of Don Giovanni will hardly blush or frown at anything in La traviata."

The opera was first performed in France on 6 December 1856 in Italian by the Théâtre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour in Paris, and on 27 October 1864 in French as Violetta (an adaptation by Édouard Duprez, older brother of the tenor Gilbert Duprez) at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet with Christina Nilsson in the title role. The French adaptation of the libretto was published in 1865.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, La traviata became one of the most frequently performed operas during Verdi's lifetime. It is often ranked highly on annual lists of most performed operas.

Synopsis

 * Place: Paris and its vicinity
 * Time: Beginning of the 19th century

Act 1
The salon in Violetta's house Violetta Valéry, a famed courtesan, throws a lavish party at her Paris salon to celebrate her recovery from an illness. Gastone, a viscount, has brought with him a friend, Alfredo Germont, a young bourgeois from a provincial family who has long adored Violetta from afar. While walking to the salon, Gastone tells Violetta that Alfredo loves her, and that while she was ill, he came to her house every day. Alfredo joins them, admitting the truth of Gastone's remarks.

Baron Douphol, Violetta's current lover, waits nearby to escort her to the salon. Once there, the Baron is asked to give a toast, but refuses, and the crowd turns to Alfredo, who agrees to sing a brindisi – a drinking song (Alfredo, Violetta, chorus: Libiamo ne' lieti calici – "Let's drink from the joyful cups").

From the next room, the sound of the orchestra is heard and the guests move there to dance. After a series of severe coughs and almost fainting, Violetta begins to feel dizzy and asks her guests to go ahead and to leave her to rest until she recovers. While the guests dance in the next room, Violetta looks at her pale face in her mirror. Alfredo enters and expresses his concern for her fragile health, later declaring his love for her (Alfredo, Violetta: Un dì, felice, eterea – "One day, happy and ethereal"). At first, she rejects him because his love means nothing to her, but there is something about Alfredo that touches her heart. He is about to leave when she gives him a flower, telling him to return it when it has wilted, which will be the very next day.

After the guests leave, Violetta wonders if Alfredo could actually be the one in her life (Violetta: È strano! ... Ah, fors' è lui – "Ah, perhaps he is the one"). But she concludes that she needs freedom to live her life (Violetta, Alfredo: Sempre libera – "Always free"). From off stage, Alfredo's voice is heard singing about love as he walks down the street.

Act 2
Scene 1: Violetta's country house outside Paris

Three months later, Alfredo and Violetta are living together in a peaceful country house outside Paris. Violetta has fallen in love with Alfredo and she has completely abandoned her former life. Alfredo sings of their happy life together (Alfredo: De' miei bollenti spiriti / Il giovanile ardore – "The youthful ardor of my ebullient spirits"). Annina, the maid, arrives from Paris, and, when questioned by Alfredo, tells him that she went there to sell the horses, carriages and everything owned by Violetta to support their country lifestyle.

Alfredo is shocked to learn this and leaves for Paris immediately to settle matters himself. Violetta returns home and receives an invitation from her friend, Flora, to a party in Paris that evening. Alfredo's father, Giorgio Germont, is announced and demands that she break off her relationship with his son for the sake of his family, since he reveals that Violetta's relationship with Alfredo has threatened his daughter's engagement (Giorgio: Pura siccome un angelo, Iddio mi diè una figlia – "Pure as an angel, God gave me a daughter") because of Violetta's reputation. Meanwhile, he reluctantly becomes impressed by Violetta's nobility, something which he did not expect from a courtesan. She responds that she cannot end the relationship because she loves Alfredo so much, but Giorgio pleads with her for the sake of his family. With growing remorse, she finally agrees (Violetta, Giorgio: Dite alla giovine, sì bella e pura, – "Tell the young girl, so beautiful and pure,") and says goodbye to Giorgio. In a gesture of gratitude for her kindness and sacrifice, Giorgio kisses her forehead before leaving her weeping alone.

Violetta gives a note to Annina to send to Flora accepting the party invitation and, as she is writing a farewell letter to Alfredo, he enters. She can barely control her sadness and tears; she tells him repeatedly of her unconditional love (Violetta: Amami, Alfredo, amami quant'io t'amo – "Love me, Alfredo, love me as I love you"). Before rushing out and setting off for Paris, she hands the farewell letter to her servant to give to Alfredo.

Soon, the servant brings the letter to Alfredo and, as soon as he has read it, Giorgio returns and attempts to comfort his son, reminding him of his family in Provence (Giorgio: Di Provenza il mar, il suol chi dal cor ti cancellò? – "Who erased the sea, the land of Provence from your heart?"). Alfredo suspects that the Baron is behind his separation from Violetta, and the party invitation, which he finds on the desk, strengthens his suspicions. He decides to confront Violetta at the party. Giorgio tries to stop Alfredo, but he rushes out.

Scene 2: Party at Flora's house At the party, the Marquis tells Flora that Violetta and Alfredo have separated, much to the amazement of everyone who had previously seen the happy couple. She calls for the entertainers to perform for the guests (Chorus: Noi siamo zingarelle venute da lontano – "We are gypsy girls who have come from afar"; Di Madride noi siam mattadori – "We are matadors from Madrid"). Gastone and his friends join the matadors and sing (Gastone, chorus, dancers: È Piquillo un bel gagliardo Biscaglino mattador – "Piquillo is a bold and handsome matador from Biscay").

Violetta arrives with Baron Douphol. They see Alfredo at the gambling table. When he sees them, Alfredo loudly proclaims that he will take Violetta home with him. Feeling annoyed, the Baron goes to the gambling table and joins him in a game. As they bet, Alfredo wins some large sums until Flora announces that supper is ready. Alfredo leaves with handfuls of money.

As everyone is leaving the room, Violetta has asked Alfredo to see her. Fearing that the Baron's anger will lead him to challenge Alfredo to a duel, she gently asks Alfredo to leave. Alfredo misunderstands her apprehension and demands that she admit that she loves the Baron. In grief, she makes that admission and, furiously, Alfredo calls the guests to witness what he has to say (Questa donna conoscete? – "You know this woman?"). He humiliates and denounces Violetta in front of the guests and then throws his winnings at her feet in payment for her services. She faints onto the floor. The guests reprimand Alfredo: Di donne ignobile insultatore, di qua allontanati, ne desti orror! ("Ignoble insulter of women, go away from here, you fill us with horror!").

In search of his son, Giorgio enters the hall and, knowing the real significance of the scene, denounces his son's behavior (Giorgio, Alfredo, Violetta, chorus: Di sprezzo degno sè stesso rende chi pur nell'ira la donna offende. – "A man, who even in anger, offends a woman renders himself deserving of contempt.").

Flora and the ladies attempt to persuade Violetta to leave the dining room, but Violetta turns to Alfredo: Alfredo, Alfredo, di questo core non-puoi comprendere tutto l'amore... – "Alfredo, Alfredo, you can't understand all the love in this heart...".

Act 3
Violetta's bedroom

Dr. Grenvil tells Annina that Violetta will not live long since her tuberculosis has worsened. Alone in her room, Violetta reads a letter from Alfredo's father telling her that the Baron was only wounded in his duel with Alfredo. He has informed Alfredo of the sacrifice she has made for him and his sister; and he is sending his son to see her as quickly as possible to ask for her forgiveness. But Violetta senses it is too late (Violetta: Addio, del passato bei sogni ridenti – "Farewell, lovely, happy dreams of the past").

Annina rushes into the room to tell Violetta of Alfredo's arrival. The lovers are reunited and Alfredo suggests that they leave Paris (Alfredo, Violetta: Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo – "We will leave Paris, O beloved").

But it is too late: she knows her death approaches (Alfredo, Violetta: Gran Dio!...morir sì giovane – "Great God!...to die so young"). Alfredo's father enters with the doctor, regretting what he has done. After singing a duet with Alfredo, Violetta suddenly revives, exclaiming that the pain and discomfort have left her. A moment later, she dies in Alfredo's arms.

Instrumentation
The opera uses an orchestra with the following instrumentation: 2 flutes (fl. 2 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, harp, cimbasso, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, triangle, strings.

Banda: Verdi did not fully orchestrate the parts of the on-stage band, but rather composed it in the style of a piano reduction, leaving the actual realization to the person in charge of the band. Over the years many versions were created, varying from theater to theater depending on the instruments available, but none of them is authoritative. A widespread version is: 1 piccolo, 4 clarinets, 2 horns, flugelhorn, 3 trumpets, at least 2 trombones, low brasses (number unspecified), bass drum.

Music
The prelude to the opera begins with very soft, very high strings depicting the frail heroine, followed by the main love theme of the opera, which is then played on lower strings while the higher instruments decorate the melody.

This delicate atmosphere is altered on curtain rise by lively dance tunes in the orchestra. After the famous "Brindisi", an offstage band plays a series of waltzes (waltz rhythms pervade the first act of the opera, creating a Parisian atmosphere). The concluding part of Violetta's solo scene that ends the first act is full of vocal decoration and feverish ornamentation as she swears to stay free ("Sempre libera"). These coloratura effects are not required for the character after the first act.

The lengthy and crucial duet between the elder Germont and Violetta in act 2 is multi-sectioned with the music following the changing dramatic situation.

La traviata is the only one of Verdi's many operas to be set entirely indoors. Unlike Il trovatore, which was composed simultaneously, La traviata is an intimate piece, full of tender lyricism. The character of Violetta dominates the work and her music changes as she develops through the drama, from the hectic, almost hysterical coloratura of the first act, to the more dramatic passages of the second, and the spiritual quality of her music as she dies in act 3.

Film versions

 * A 1967 film version by Mario Lanfranchi features Anna Moffo as Violetta, Franco Bonisolli as Alfredo, Gino Bechi as Giorgio Germont, and the chorus and orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, conducted by Giuseppe Patanè.
 * Franco Zeffirelli directed La Traviata in 1983, with Teresa Stratas as Violetta, Plácido Domingo as Alfredo, and Cornell MacNeil as Giorgio Germont.
 * The 2012 documentary film Becoming Traviata chronicles at length rehearsals for a production of La traviata directed by at the Aix-en-Provence Festival featuring Natalie Dessay and Charles Castronovo.

Inspired music

 * Donato Lovreglio (1841–1907), an Italian flautist and composer, wrote the "Concert Fantasy on themes from Verdi's La traviata", Op. 45, for clarinet and orchestra (published Ricordi, 1865); in it, Lovreglio used the overture and several arias from the opera.
 * The Spanish composer Julián Arcas (1832–1882) wrote a "Fantasía sobre motivos de La traviata".

title: La traviata


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Il trovatore

Il trovatore ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El trovador (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's most successful play, one which Verdi scholar Julian Budden describes as "a high flown, sprawling melodrama flamboyantly defiant of the Aristotelian unities, packed with all manner of fantastic and bizarre incident."

The premiere took place at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 19 January 1853, where it "began a victorious march throughout the operatic world", a success due to Verdi's work over the previous three years. It began with his January 1850 approach to Cammarano with the idea of Il trovatore. There followed, slowly and with interruptions, the preparation of the libretto, first by Cammarano until his death in mid-1852 and then with the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare, which gave the composer the opportunity to propose significant revisions, which were accomplished under his direction. These revisions are seen largely in the expansion of the role of Leonora.

For Verdi, the three years were filled with musical activity; work on this opera did not proceed while the composer wrote and premiered Rigoletto in Venice in March 1851. His personal affairs also limited his professional work. In May 1851, an additional commission was offered by the Venice company after Rigoletto's success there. Another commission came from Paris while he was visiting that city from late 1851 to March 1852. Before the libretto for Il trovatore was completed, before it was scored, and before it premiered, Verdi had four operatic projects in various stages of development.

Today, Il trovatore is performed frequently and is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire.

Composition history
How and when Verdi acquired a copy of the García Gutiérrez play is uncertain, but Budden notes that it appears that Giuseppina Strepponi, with whom Verdi had been living in Busseto since September 1849, had translated the play, as evidenced in a letter from her two weeks before the premiere urging him to "hurry up and give OUR Trovatore".

When considering setting García Gutiérrez's play, Verdi turned to work with Cammarano, "the born operatic poet" (according to Budden). Their correspondence began as early as January 1850, well before Verdi had done anything to develop a libretto with Piave for what later became Rigoletto in Venice. At this time, it was also the first since Oberto that the composer was beginning to prepare an opera with a librettist but without a commission of any kind from an opera house. In his first letter to Cammarano, Verdi proposed El Trovador as the subject with "two feminine roles. The first, the gypsy, a woman of unusual character after whom I want to name the opera."

With regard to the chosen librettist's strength as a poet in preparing verse for opera, Budden also comments that his approach was very traditional, something which began to become clear during the preparation of the libretto and which appears in the correspondence between the two men.

Relationship with Cammarano
Verdi's time and energy were spent mostly on finishing Rigoletto, which premiered at La Fenice in Venice in March 1851. Within a matter of weeks, Verdi was expressing his frustration to a mutual friend, Cesare De Sanctis, at having no communication from Cammarano. His letter emphasized that "the bolder he is, the happier it will make me," although it appears that Cammarano's reply contained several objections, which Verdi answered on 4 April and, in his response, he emphasized certain aspects of the plot which were important to him. These included Leonora taking the veil and also the importance of the Azucena/Manrico relationship. He continued by asking whether the librettist liked the drama and emphasized that "the more unusual and bizarre the better".

Verdi also writes that if there were no standard forms – "cavatinas, duets, trios, choruses, finales, etc. [....] and if you could avoid beginning with an opening chorus...." he would be quite happy. Correspondence continued between the two men for the following two months or so, including another letter from the composer of 9 April which included three pages of suggestions. But he also made concessions and expresses his happiness in what he is receiving in the way of verse.

During the period to follow, in spite of his preoccupations but especially after he had begun to overcome them, Verdi had kept in touch with the librettist. In a letter around the time of his intended departure for France, he wrote encouragingly to Cammarano: "I beg you with all my soul to finish this Trovatore as quickly as you possibly can."

Preoccupations and delays in 1851–1852
There then arose the question of where the opera would eventually be presented. Verdi had turned down an offer from Naples, but became concerned about the availability of his preferred Azucena, Rita Gabussi-De Bassini. She turned out not to be on the Naples roster, but expressed an interest in the possibility of Rome.

Things were put on hold for several months as Verdi became preoccupied with family matters, which included the illnesses of both his mother (who died in July) and father, the estrangement from his parents with communications conducted only between lawyers, and the administration of his newly acquired property at Sant'Agata (now the Villa Verdi near his hometown of Busseto), where he had established his parents. But his relationship with his parents, albeit legally severed, as well as Strepponi's situation living with the composer in an unmarried state, continued to preoccupy him, as did the deterioration of his relationship with his father-in-law, Antonio Barezzi. Finally, in April 1851, agreement was reached with the elder Verdis on the payment of debts mutually owed and the couple were given time to resettle, leaving Sant'Agata for Verdi and Strepponi to occupy for the next fifty years.

May 1851 brought an offer for a new opera from the Venice authorities, and it was followed by an agreement with the Rome Opera company to present Trovatore during the 1852/1853 Carnival season, specifically in January 1853.

By November Verdi and Strepponi left Italy to spend the winter of 1851/52 in Paris, where he concluded an agreement with the Paris Opéra to write what became Les vêpres siciliennes, his first grand opera, although he had adapted his earlier I Lombardi into Jérusalem for the stage. Including work on Trovatore, other projects consumed him, but a significant event occurred in February, when the couple attended a performance of The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils. What followed is reported by Verdi's biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz who states that the composer revealed that, after seeing the play, he immediately began to compose music for what would later become La traviata.

The couple returned to Sant'Agata by mid-March 1852 and Verdi immediately began work on Trovatore after a year's delay.

Death of Cammarano and work with Bardare
Then, in July 1852, by way of an announcement in a theatrical journal, Verdi received news of Cammarano's death earlier that month. This was both a professional and a personal blow. The composer learned that Cammarano had completed Manrico's third-act aria, "Di quella pira" just eight days before his death, but now he turned to De Sanctis to find him another librettist. Leone Emanuele Bardare was a young poet from Naples who was beginning his career; eventually he wrote more than 15 librettos before 1880. Composer and librettist met in Rome around 20 December 1852 and Verdi began work on both Trovatore and La traviata.

His main aim, having changed his mind about the distribution of characters in the opera, was to enhance the role of Leonora, thus making it "a two-women opera" and he communicated many of these ideas ahead of time via letters to De Sanctis over several months. Leonora now was to have a cantabile for the Miserere as well as retaining "Tacea la Notte" in act 1 with its cabaletta. Changes were also made to Azucena's "Stride la vampa" and to the Count's lines. Taking into account the last-minute requirements of the censor and the consequent changes, overall, the revisions and changes enhanced the opera, and the result was that it was a critical and a popular success.

Performance history
In Italian as Il trovatore  The opera's immense popularity – albeit a popular success rather than a critical one – came from some 229 productions worldwide in the three years following its premiere on 19 January 1853, and is illustrated by the fact that "in Naples, for example, where the opera in its first three years had eleven stagings in six theaters, the performances totalled 190".

First given in Paris in Italian on 23 December 1854 by the Théâtre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour, the cast included Lodovico Graziani as Manrico and Adelaide Borghi-Mamo as Azucena.

Il trovatore was first performed in the US by the Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company on 2 May 1855 at the then-recently opened Academy of Music in New York. The cast included Balbina Steffenone as Leonora, Pasquale Brignoli as Manrico, Felicita Vestvali as Azucena, and Alessandro Amodio as the Count di Luna. The work's UK premiere took place on 10 May 1855 at Covent Garden in London, with Jenny Bürde-Ney as Leonora, Enrico Tamberlik as Manrico, Pauline Viardot as Azucena and Francesco Graziani as the Conte di Luna.

As the 19th century proceeded there was a decline in interest, but Il trovatore saw a revival of interest after Toscanini's 1902 revivals. From its performance at the Met on 26 October 1883 the opera has been a staple of its repertoire.

Today, almost all performances use the Italian version and it is one of the world's most frequently performed operas.

In French as Le trouvère

After the successful presentation of the opera in Italian in Paris, François-Louis Crosnier, director of l'Opéra de Paris, proposed that Verdi revise his opera for the Paris audience as a grand opera, which would include a ballet, to be presented on the stage of the major Paris house. While Verdi was in Paris with Giuseppina Strepponi from late July 1855, working on the completion of Aroldo and beginning to prepare a libretto with Piave for what would become Simon Boccanegra, he encountered some legal difficulties in dealing with Toribio Calzado, the impresario of the Théâtre des Italiens, and, with his contacts with the Opėra, agreed to prepare a French version of Trovatore on 22 September 1855.

A translation of Cammarano's libretto was made by librettist Émilien Pacini under the title of Le trouvère and it was first performed at La Monnaie in Brussels on 20 May 1856. There followed the production at the Paris Opera's Salle Le Peletier on 12 January 1857 after which Verdi returned to Italy. Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie attended the latter performance.

For the French premiere, Verdi made some changes to the score of Le trouvère including the addition of music for the ballet in act 3 which followed the soldiers' chorus, where gypsies danced to entertain them. The quality of Verdi's ballet music has been noted by scholar Charles Osborne: "He could have been the Tchaikovsky of Italian ballet" he states, continuing to praise it as "perfect ballet music". In addition, he describes the unusual practice of Verdi having woven in themes from the gypsy chorus of act 2, ballet music for opera rarely connecting with the themes of the work. Several other revisions focused on Azucena's music, including an extended version of the finale of act 4, to accommodate the role's singer Adelaide Borghi-Mamo. Some of these changes have even been used in modern performances in Italian.

In 1990 Tulsa Opera presented the first staging of Le trouvère in the United States using a new critical edition by musicologist, conductor, and Verdi scholar David Lawton. Recorded live for broadcast on NPR, Lawton conducted the premiere with Margaret Jane Wray as Leonore, Craig Sirianni as Manrique, Greer Grimsley as Le Comte de Luna, Barbara Conrad as Azucena, and the Tulsa Philharmonic. This version was published by Ricordi and the University of Chicago Press in 2001. An updated version of this critical edition by Lawton was published by Ricordi in 2018, and given its premiere at the Festival Verdi in Parma that same year.

Rarely given in French, it was presented as part of the 1998 Festival della Valle d'Itria and in 2002 Le trouvère appeared as part of the Sarasota Opera's "Verdi Cycle" of all the composer's work.

Synopsis

 * Place: Biscay and Aragon (Spain)
 * Time: Fifteenth century.

Act 1: The Duel
Scene 1: The guard room in the castle of Luna (The Palace of Aljafería, Zaragoza, Spain)

Ferrando, the captain of the guards, orders his men to keep watch while Count di Luna wanders restlessly beneath the windows of Leonora, lady-in-waiting to the Princess. Di Luna loves Leonora and is jealous of his successful rival, a troubadour whose identity he does not know. In order to keep the guards awake, Ferrando narrates the history of the count (Racconto: Di due figli vivea padre beato / "The good Count di Luna lived happily, the father of two sons"): many years ago, a gypsy was wrongfully accused of having bewitched the youngest of the di Luna children; the child had fallen sick, and for this the gypsy had been burnt alive as a witch, her protests of innocence ignored. Dying, she had commanded her daughter Azucena to avenge her, which she did by abducting the baby. Although the burnt bones of a child were found in the ashes of the pyre, the father refused to believe his son's death. Dying, the father commanded his firstborn, the new Count di Luna, to seek Azucena.

Scene 2: Garden in the palace of the princess Leonora confesses her love for the Troubadour to her confidante, Ines (Cavatina: Tacea la notte placida / "The peaceful night lay silent"... Di tale amor / "A love that words can scarcely describe"), in which she tells how she fell in love with a mystery knight, victor at a tournament: lost track of him when a civil war broke out: then encountered him again, in disguise as a wandering troubadour who sang beneath her window. When they have gone, Count di Luna enters, intending to pay court to Leonora himself, but hears the voice of his rival, in the distance: (Deserto sulla terra / "Alone upon this earth"). Leonora in the darkness briefly mistakes the count for her lover, until the Troubadour himself enters the garden, and she rushes to his arms. The Count challenges his rival to reveal his true identity, which he does: Manrico, a knight now outlawed and under death sentence for his allegiance to a rival prince. Manrico in turn challenges him to call the guards, but the Count regards this encounter as a personal rather than political matter, and challenges Manrico instead to a duel over their common love. Leonora tries to intervene, but cannot stop them from fighting (Trio: Di geloso amor sprezzato / "The fire of jealous love" ).

Act 2: The Gypsy Woman
Scene 1: The gypsies' camp

The gypsies sing the Anvil Chorus: Vedi le fosche notturne / "See! The endless sky casts off her sombre nightly garb...". Azucena, the daughter of the Gypsy burnt by the count, is still haunted by her duty to avenge her mother (Canzone: Stride la vampa / "The flames are roaring!"). The Gypsies break camp while Azucena confesses to Manrico that after stealing the di Luna baby she had intended to burn the count's little son along with her mother, but overwhelmed by the screams and the gruesome scene of her mother's execution, she becomes confused and throws her own child into the flames instead (Racconto: Condotta ell'era in ceppi / "They dragged her in bonds"). Manrico realises that he is not the son of Azucena, but loves her as if she were indeed his mother, as she has always been faithful and loving to him – and, indeed, saved his life only recently, discovering him left for dead on a battlefield after being caught in ambush. Manrico tells Azucena that he defeated di Luna in their earlier duel, but was held back from killing him by a mysterious power (Duet: Mal reggendo / "He was helpless under my savage attack"): and Azucena reproaches him for having stayed his hand then, especially since it was the Count's forces that defeated him in the subsequent battle of Pelilla. A messenger arrives and reports that Manrico's allies have taken Castle Castellor, which Manrico is ordered to hold in the name of his prince: and also that Leonora, who believes Manrico dead, is about to enter a convent and take the veil that night. Although Azucena tries to prevent him from leaving in his weak state (Ferma! Son io che parlo a te! / "I must talk to you"), Manrico rushes away to prevent her from carrying out this intent.

Scene 2: In front of the convent

Di Luna and his attendants intend to abduct Leonora and the Count sings of his love for her (Aria: Il balen del suo sorriso / "The light of her smile" ... Per me ora fatale / "Fatal hour of my life"). Leonora and the nuns appear in procession, but Manrico prevents di Luna from carrying out his plans and takes Leonora away with him, although once again leaving the Count behind unharmed, as the soldiers on both sides back down from bloodshed, the Count being held back by his own men.

Act 3: The Son of the Gypsy Woman
Scene 1: Di Luna's camp

Di Luna and his army are attacking the fortress Castellor where Manrico has taken refuge with Leonora (Chorus: Or co' dadi ma fra poco / "Now we play at dice"). Ferrando drags in Azucena, who has been captured wandering near the camp. When she hears di Luna's name, Azucena's reactions arouse suspicion and Ferrando recognizes her as the supposed murderer of the count's brother. Azucena cries out to her son Manrico to rescue her and the count realizes that he has the means to flush his enemy out of the fortress. He orders his men to build a pyre and burn Azucena before the walls.

Scene 2: A chamber in the castle

Inside the castle, Manrico and Leonora are preparing to be married. She is frightened; the battle with di Luna is imminent and Manrico's forces are outnumbered. He assures her of his love (Aria: Ah sì, ben mio, coll'essere / "Ah, yes, my love, in being yours"), even in the face of death. When news of Azucena's capture reaches him, he summons his men and desperately prepares to attack (Cabaletta: Di quella pira l'orrendo foco / "The horrid flames of that pyre"). Leonora faints.

Act 4: The Punishment
Scene 1: Before the dungeon keep

Manrico has failed to free Azucena and has been imprisoned himself. Leonora attempts to free him (Aria: D'amor sull'ali rosee / "On the rosy wings of love"; Chorus & Duet: Miserere / "Lord, thy mercy on this soul") by begging di Luna for mercy and offers herself in place of her lover. She promises to give herself to the count, but secretly swallows poison from her ring in order to die before di Luna can possess her (Duet: Mira, d'acerbe lagrime / "See the bitter tears I shed").

Scene 2: In the dungeon

Manrico and Azucena are awaiting their execution. Manrico attempts to soothe Azucena, whose mind wanders to happier days in the mountains (Duet: Ai nostri monti ritorneremo / "Again to our mountains we shall return"). At last the gypsy slumbers. Leonora comes to Manrico and tells him that he is saved, begging him to escape. When he discovers she cannot accompany him, he refuses to leave his prison. He believes Leonora has betrayed him until he realizes that she has taken poison to remain true to him. As she dies in agony in Manrico's arms she confesses that she prefers to die with him than to marry another (Trio: Prima che d'altri vivere / "Rather than live as another's"). The count has heard Leonora's last words and orders Manrico's execution. Azucena awakens and tries to stop di Luna. Once she finds out Manrico is dead, she cries: ''Egli era tuo fratello! Sei vendicata, o madre.'' / "He was your brother ... You are avenged, oh mother!"

Instrumentation

 * Woodwinds: piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons
 * Brass: 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba
 * Percussion: timpani, triangle, tambourine, castanets, cymbals, anvils, bass drum
 * String: harp, strings

Music
Today, most opera scholars recognize the expressive musical qualities of Verdi's writing. However, musicologist Roger Parker notes that "the extreme formalism of the musical language has been seen as serving to concentrate and define the various stages of the drama, above all channeling them into those key confrontations that mark its inexorable progress".

Here he, like many other writers, notes the elements of musical form (then often described as "closed forms") which characterize the opera and make it appear to be something of a return to the language of earlier times, "the veritable apotheosis of bel canto with its demands for vocal beauty, agility and range," notes Charles Osborne. Thus, the cantabile-cabaletta two-part arias, the use of the chorus, etc., which Verdi had originally asked Cammarano to ignore, are evident. But Verdi wanted something else: "the freer the forms he presents me with, the better I shall do," he wrote to the librettist's friend in March 1851. It was not what he received from his librettist, but he certainly demonstrated his total mastery over this style. Osborne's take on 'Il trovatore is that "it is as though Verdi had decided to do something which he had been perfecting over the years, and to do it so beautifully that he need never to do it again. Formally, it is a step backward after Rigoletto".

Budden describes one of the musical qualities as the relationship between the "consistent dramatic impetus" of the action being caused by the "propulsive quality" of the music which produces a "sense of continuous forward motion". Parker describes it as "sheer musical energy apparent in all the numbers". And Budden gives many examples which show Verdi as "the equal of Bellini" as a melodist.

Verdi also clearly recognizes the importance of the role of Azucena. Remembering that the composer's initial suggestion to Cammarano was that he wanted to name the opera after her, Budden notes that this character "is the first of a glorious line" and he names Ulrica (from Ballo), Eboli (from Don Carlos), and Amneris (from Aida) as followers in the same vocal range and with the same expressive and distinct qualities which separate them from the other female role in the opera in which they feature. He quotes from a letter which Verdi wrote to Marianna Barbieri-Nini, the soprano who was due to sing the Leonora in Venice after the premiere, and who expressed reservations about her music. Here, Verdi emphasizes the importance of the role of Azucena:
 * ..it's a principal, the principal role; finer and more dramatic and more original than the other. If I were a prima donna (a fine thing that would be!), I would always rather sing the part of the Gypsy in Il trovatore.

From this position, Budden comments on the distinct differences in an era where vocal registers were less defined and which extend into Leonora's and Azucena's music "where greater verbal projection of the lower voice [can be] turned to advantage" and where "the polarity between the two female roles [extends] into every field of comparison." He then sums up the musical relationship which exists between the two female characters, the men having simply been defined as being representative of their own voice types, something evident and very striking in Verdi's significant use of voice types in Ernani of 1844. Regarding Leonora, Budden describes her music as "mov[ing] in long phrases most characterized by a soaring 'aspiring' quality" whereas "Azucena's melodies evolve in short, often commonplace phrases based on the repetition of short rhythmic patterns".

Cultural references
Enrico Caruso once said that all it takes for a successful performance of Il trovatore is the four greatest singers in the world. On many occasions, this opera and its music have been featured in various forms of popular culture and entertainment. Scenes of comic chaos play out over a performance of Il trovatore in the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera (including a quotation, in the middle of the act 1 overture, of Take Me Out to the Ball Game). Luchino Visconti used a performance of Il trovatore at La Fenice opera house for the opening sequence of his 1954 film Senso. As Manrico sings his battle cry in "Di quella pira", the performance is interrupted by the answering cries of Italian nationalists on the upper balcony who shower the stalls area below with patriotic leaflets. In Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism, Millicent Marcus proposes that Visconti used this operatic paradigm throughout Senso, with parallels between the opera's protagonists, Manrico and Leonora, and the film's protagonists, Ussoni and Livia. A staging of act 1, scene 2, of Il trovatore is featured in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1979 film La Luna. Music from the opera was featured on Kijiji in Canada for commercials.

Historical references
While the story and most of the characters are fictitious, it is set towards the end of a real civil war in Aragon. Following the death of King Martin of Aragon in 1410, no fewer than six candidates staked a claim for the throne. A political meeting, the Compromise of Caspe, found in favour of Martin's sororal nephew Ferdinand. Count James II of Urgell, King Martin's brother-in-law and the closest relative through purely patrilineal line of descent, refused to accept the decision of the Compromise, believing (with some justification) that Martin had intended to adopt him as the heir by appointing him Governor-General after the death of his own son Martin the Younger, and rebelled. A third candidate was Frederic, Count of Luna, bastard son of Martin the Younger, whose legitimization had been sought from the Pope unsuccessfully. As part of the compromise for withdrawing his own claim in favour of Ferdinand, Frederic was granted the County of Luna, one of the lesser titles that his father had held.

While neither of the two princes who actually took part in the war appears in the opera – neither is even referred to by name, and only Urgell is referred to by his title – the fortunes of their followers mirror those of their princes. Thus, with his military success, Ferdinand's side has the upper hand in the war and is effectively the Royalist party, with the backing of much of the nobility and the Dowager Queen, and he also has Di Luna as his chief henchman (Luna's own connection to the royal family is not mentioned, being not necessary to the drama): while Urgel, losing the war and on the back foot, is forced to recruit among outlaws and the dispossessed, effectively taking the part of a rebel despite having some legal right to his case. Thus the fact that the forces of Urgel, in the opera as in real life, lose every pitched battle: and on the single occasion that they capture a castle (named in the opera as "Castellor", a fairly generic name for a castle, there being many Castellars in the region), it proves a handicap to them because their only hope in battle lies in speed, mobility, surprise and ambush, all of which are lost when defending a fortress.

Thus it is that the fictitious troubadour Manrico can gain his rags-to-riches background, having risen from the obscurity of a Biscayan gypsy camp to become Urgel's chief general, a knight and a master swordsman in his own right, good enough to defeat Di Luna himself in a personal duel, or win a knightly tournament: only to lose it again on the military battlefield, where the odds are perpetually against him, and he is damned as an outlaw even before the opera begins, for no deed of his own but because his master is the rebel. And yet he gets to be a heroic, popular outlaw, who might just escape with his life in return for a vow of future loyalty, if put on trial in front of the Prince himself: a chance that Luna does not want to risk, given that his rivalry with Manrico is personal as well as political. Hence the challenge to the duel over the personal rivalry, instead of calling the guards and making the arrest political, in act 1: and hence also the decision to execute without trial in act 4 even though Luna knows he is abusing his position. Leonora and Azucena are, of course, as fictitious as Manrico, as is the story's conceit that the former Count of Luna had not one but two sons.

Recordings
Over the last century there has been an increase in interest and appreciation for Verdi's music. Remarkably, there has been a lot of interest in the excerpt "Miserere" and "Di Quella Pira", and since the dawn of recorded music there have been tenths of recordings of these fragments, rangning from vocal interpretations to instrumental duets. For the early American market, Giannini's and Pryor's arrangements may be notable, and for the Russian market Labinskii's recording is considered to be the most mature. Though, for the first half of the 20th century, Caruso's version would be the most acclaimed.

In popular culture
In the recent years the some "Il trovatore" excepts have gained massive popularity, specially "Miserere". The most important aspects of this increase in appreciation could be sourced from a revitalisation of interest in ancient 78rpm records, and the introduction of this fragment in the "Stage 3" LP of the album "Everywhere at the end of Time", representing a remarkable regression in mental age due to the "caretaker" experiencing an advanced stage of dementia. The version portrayed is sung by Ferruccio Giannini and is recognisable by its extremelly poor aural condition.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Il trovatore


text:
Talk:La traviata

Un di, felice, eterea
I removed the lyrics to "Un di, felice, eterea" and placed them in an article of their own, as I belive that they do not belong on the page about the opera.

Arias
Could it be convenient to add original titles of arias, being the way they are sung?

Setting
The program notes for the Metropolitan Opera's production of La Traviata say: In La Traviata he (Verdi) took on for the first - and only - time a contemporary play in contemporary dress...It was some time, however, before Verdi's "modern-dress" idea was put into practice. Scores up to 1914 continued to specify "about 1700." In 1896 Bernard Shaw wrote of a sight "familiar to every opera-goer.... Violetta in the latest Parisian confections and Alfredo in full Louis XIV fig." Should this be incorporated into the article?MHarris 04:21, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Done. Stiffelio is set in the early 1800s, so wasn't too far away from being contemporary. --GuillaumeTell 22:14, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Section on "Structure"
I've temporarily removed the following to this talk page because it seems rather redundant given the information contained in the Synopsis. However, please don't take this to mean that I view this information as useless for the article; rather, I'd like to promote a discussion on how we might better re-incorporate the material back into the article. (Perhaps we might find a way to include a listing of the musical "numbers" alongside the synopsis of each act?) -- Todeswalzer | Talk 20:52, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

 * WikiProject Opera/Article styles and formats already addresses this issue by giving two examples, one of which is where there is both the original language and the English translation: See: Un ballo in maschera.
 * So, the way to achieve this is by incorporating these "numbers" into to the synopsis itself. Some specific arias are already in place: e.g. Un di felice.  So, a lot of this is unnecessary duplication, as demonstrated by the items below which are struck out .  In any case, scene locations are already described.
 * The "numbers" list is redundant, since it is generally obvious, although they could be named as such within the brackets (bold faced for emphasis here only): e.g.
 * (Cavatina: Violetta: Ah, fors'è lui  – "Ah, perhaps he is the one"). But she concludes that she needs freedom to live her life (Cabaletta: Violetta: Sempre libera  – "Always free").
 * Many opera articles are structured in this way. Viva-Verdi (talk) 21:42, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

Structure
Act 1

Violetta's home. Ensemble of the guests.
 * Drinking song -- Brindisi, Alfredo and Violetta: Libiamo ne' lieti calici -- "Let's drink from the happy goblets"
 * Alfredo and Violetta's duet: Un di, felice, eterea -- "That day I've never forgotten"
 * Chorus: Si ridesta in ciel l'aurora -- "The dawn reawakens in the sky"
 * Scene and aria of Violetta: É strano -- "It is strange"
 * Ah, forse lui -- "Perhaps he is the one" and Sempre libera -- "Always free"

Act II

At a country house.
 * Alfredo's scene: Lunge da lei per me non v'ha diletto -- "Far from her there's no joy"
 * Aria: De miei bollenti spiriti -- "Of my ardent spirit"
 * Scene and duet, Violetta, Germont's father: Madamigella Valery?
 * Pura siccome un angelo, Iddio mi dié una figlia -- "Pure as an angel, God gave me a daughter"
 * Scene, Violetta, Alfredo: Che fai? -- "What are you doing?"
 * Scene of Alfredo and aria of Germont: Di Provenza il mar, il suol -- "Of Provence the sea, the land"

Act III

(Often played as the second scene of Act II.) At Flora's house.
 * Scene and masked gipsy chorus: Noi siamo zingarelle -- "We are gipsy girls"
 * Chorus of bull-fighters: Di Madride noi siam mattadori -- "From Madrid we are matadors"
 * Scene between Violetta, Germont and Alfredo. Violetta: Questa donna conoscete? -- "Do you know this woman?"

Act IV

Bedchamber of Violetta.
 * Scene between Violetta, Annina and physician. Violetta reads the letter of Germont. Addio del passato -- "Farewell! past days of joy"
 * Scene and duet, Violetta, Alfredo: Oh mia Violetta, oh joy -- "Oh, my Violetta, oh joy" and Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo -- "Paris, oh dear one, we will leave"
 * Aria, Violetta: Gran Dio! non posso -- "Great God, I cannot"
 * Finale, Germont, Violetta, Alfredo, with Violetta's death.

"Allegorical reference to the fallen angel" - Relevance?
Here's the section in the present text: The title "La traviata" means literally The Woman Who Strayed, or perhaps more figuratively, The fallen One, an allegorical reference to the fallen angel, "Satan".

I could be wrong, but I don't think that one can apply a direct allegory to Satan here. "Fallen One", yes, but maybe we're overinterpreting?

 * Wildly, so. It's absurd. The word "traviata" doesn't even mean 'fallen', since it refers to drifting/straying not falling. Paul B 17:21, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Setting again
The original audience appears to have been puzzled by the fact that the opera had a contemporary setting. This seems inconsistent with the statement in the synopsis that "Many modern producers of La traviata set the opera in the 19th century.", and its implication that earlier producers did not. HenryFlower 15:40, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Fixed. --GuillaumeTell 22:16, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

1983 movie
I utterly fail to see why the 1983 movie should not be listed in the section "Films and other versions" and is instead included in a list that otherwise includes only audio recordings. I especially utterly fail to see why User:Whjayg is edit-warring to keep it that way. When I first made this change, I did so because I thought there was no reference to the Zeffirelli film at all on this page, because there was no reference to it in the only logical place to look for it. —Angr 04:21, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Perhaps if you looked at Selected recordings properly, the DVD has been added in there from long ago - that is to answer to your REMARK "I did so because I thought there was no reference to the Zeffirelli film at all on this page". Why do we have to have a redundant infomation? FYI, the film was made in 1982. Thanks - Jay (talk) 04:56, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Secondly, I undid your changes for adding "Audio" in the "Selected recordings" with remark "We discussed before making changes". It is because (1) the header is our standard header for all the opera articles (2)Because we have DVD and VHS listed in there too. So you cant call it "AUDIO" only. Ps- I used "we" to refer to WikiProject_Opera - Jay (talk) 05:02, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, clearly no one discussed it before on this page. If you're going to lump audio and video recordings together, then do so, and don't have a separate section for films, and then not allow what is probably the best-known film of the opera to be included in that section. —Angr 18:03, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Also, according to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084821/releaseinfo it was released in 1983, not 1982. —Angr 05:44, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Gosh, you just dont know when to stop, dont you? I said "FYI, the film was made in 1982" (READ UP), not RELEASED!! If you must know, the "YEAR" at "Selected recording" are based on the "actual year" since most of them are LIVE ACTING on stage. Most of opera DVDs or CDs (any operas) were released years after they were performed - tht is why we dont go by "released year"! - Jay (talk) 05:54, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Gosh, you just don't know you don't OWN this article, do you? Films are always dated by their year of release, and this one is not live acting on stage. Wikipedia's own article on the movie (you know, the article you keep removing links to) calls it a "1983 film" for that very reason. Do you have a reliable source saying the movie was made in 1982, or do you just assume it because it was released in February 1983? —Angr 05:59, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Refer below especially Zeffirelli's page and the the 2nd, review

- Jay (talk) 06:09, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
 * http://www.filmreference.com/film/76/Franco-Zeffirelli.html
 * http://www.jamesweggreview.org/reviews/filmdvdvideo/la_traviata.html
 * http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Traviata-Levine-Stratas-Domingo/dp/0783227477
 * http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1021955-verdi_la_traviata/

Modern-day influences
Surely the similarities between La Traviata and Moulin Rouge should be mentioned? And I'm sure there are plenty of other stories following a similar story line? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.20.60.45 (talk) 10:07, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

 * No, Moulin Rouge is loosely based on La Boheme, not Traviata. 207.237.33.106 (talk) 08:33, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

Variations
In Romania, in the final act, before meeting Alfredo, Violetta collapses to the floor and men and women wearing masks from the ball in Act II sing some puzzling aria of the Great Ox being in the streets of Paris. The lighting flickers and Annina presents Alfredo. However, he is wearing a white translucent cloak, as is his father and Gastone (who enter the stage at a later time). When she finally dies (after stating that she feels much better), they do not react. I think this hints to the fact that when Violetta collapses, she starts having illusions of what she wants most (Alfredo, the blessing of his father and to get well). Sadly, they are not real, but at least she made peace with herself. I'd like to know if this is a variation of the original opera and, if not, maybe the synopsis should be changed to reflect that 89.122.248.132 (talk) 20:37, 8 A)pril 2009 (UTC)

 * This sounds like some dreadful Euro-trash production nonsense. People wearing translucent cloaks are not a part of Verdi's librettist's notion of this opera. Viva-Verdi (talk) 22:09, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Addio del passato
In the article, the famous aria is mentioned as (quote) Addio del passato – "So closes my sad story" (unquote). This is obviously misleading as it is in no way an accurate translation or even a rephrasing of the aria's lyrics. It obviously has to do with the fact that the three words "addio del passato" are not a full phrase and do not mean anything on their own. I suggest it is changed to: Addio del passato bei sogni ridenti - "Farewell to the happy dreams of the past". Unless someone objects soon, I will have it incorporated. (Desiderius82 (talk) 10:32, 13 September 2009 (UTC))

traviata definition
Traviata does not "literally" mean fallen woman, though it may mean that figuratively. The word is from the verb traviare, wich means to mislead. Traviata means literally, one who has been mislead. Violetta refers to herself as a traviata, just once, right after she has read Germont's letter in the final act.She is describing herself as a fallen, misguided woman in general, but also specifically as wrongly advised by Germont to follow his advice. 76.224.222.246 (talk) 19:53, 10 April 2012 (UTC)LB

non-sexual courtesan?
Would someone please explain what a non-sexual courtesan is? Is it anything like a virgin prostitute? WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 20:28, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

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File:Giuseppe Verdi, La traviata title page - Restoration.jpg to appear as POTD soon
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The fim with many locations live
I seem to remember a filmed performance when singers where in "real" situations and locations, in Paris or in France, while the orchestra was playing simultaneously in Rome; this was then hailed as a fantastic success of technology. Does anyone knows what I am mentioning? If identified, it is worth a mention, I believe. It was acclaimed as a very good performance, too. 89.64.79.94 (talk) 18:21, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Article on what you are talking about from 2000 `La Traviata' Goes on Location in Paris / TV experiment brings drama, intimacy to Verdi. I don't care enough about it to put it in the article but you or someone else can use the article as a reference and mention it if you like.Smeat75 (talk) 19:10, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

Pronunciation
Apparently Michael Bednarek believes to be entitled to delete sourced pronunciations, both English and native... Other works of art have pronunciations, e.g. Les Misérables, Mona Lisa... and they are protected pages! --92.184.96.116 (talk) 11:55, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

Elements of the opera
Plot of the story:

Costuming:

Character:

Instrumentation:

Actions: 136.158.103.75 (talk) 20:10, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:La traviata


text:
Ernani

Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play Hernani by Victor Hugo.

Verdi was commissioned by the Teatro La Fenice in Venice to write an opera, but finding the right subject took some time, and the composer worked with the inexperienced Piave in shaping first one and then another drama by Hugo into an acceptable libretto. As musicologist Roger Parker notes, the composer "intervened on several important points, insisting for example that the role of Ernani be sung by a tenor (rather than by a contralto as had originally been planned)".

Ernani was first performed on 9 March 1844, and it was "immensely popular, and was revived countless times during its early years".

It became Verdi's most popular opera until it was superseded by Il trovatore after 1853. In 1903, it became the first opera to be recorded completely.

Composition history

Following the success of both Nabucco and I Lombardi, Verdi was approached by many opera companies wanting to commission him to write an opera for their houses. Rather than prepare another for La Scala, he was interested in a commission for two operas for the 1843–44 season (one of which would be I Lombardi) which came from the President of the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Marquis Nanni Mocenigo.

However, the composer was only willing to accept the terms which he proposed: 12,000 Austrian lire to be paid after the first performance, not the third as proposed by Venice (Verdi recalled what had happened to Un giorno di regno with its one and only performance). Amongst other stipulations, he demanded the right to choose his own subject and his own librettist, and also to pay him directly, as well as refusing to accept the requirement that a full orchestral score be available in advance. In addition, he had the right to choose the singers from the assembled company for that season. David Kimbell notes one additional demand:

"He explains [to Mocenigo at La Fenice]—and this was rare at the time—that he began to compose only when the libretto was completed to his satisfaction because 'when I have a general conception of the whole poem, the music comes of its own accord'"

Once this agreement was settled upon, the next step was to choose a subject, something which took some time. Several subjects came to Verdi's attention: for example, Byron's The Corsair was considered, but the right baritone was not available. In thinking about an opera about the Venetian Foscari family, he found that it was forbidden by the censor in order to avoid upsetting any of the descendants of that family who were then living in Venice. (Both of these subjects were to become later Verdi operas, Il corsaro and I due Foscari, the latter opening in Rome later in 1844.)

An unsolicited manuscript from the unknown Francesco Piave (who was La Fenice's resident poet and stage manager in addition to being a friend of Brenna, the company's Secretary) proposed an opera, Cromwell, based on Victor Hugo's play, and on which he had started work. Mocenigo assured the composer of Piave's sense of the theatre and of musical forms, and so they agreed to proceed, although by the time of its approval by the Fenice authorities, it had become Allan Cameron, a story set in the time just prior to the accession of Britain's Charles II. Immediately, Verdi took control and made it clear to Piave what he wanted in the way of a theatrical experience: "...Let's have as few words as possible ... Remember that brevity is never a fault ... But I do insist on brevity because that's what the public wants..."

The idea for Hernani
The Cromwell libretto arrived from Piave in pieces, and Verdi put it away until he had the complete version to work from. However, when the composer and La Fenice's president met in Venice in late August, Verdi expressed some dissatisfaction at how the libretto had turned out. Then Mocenigo's casual reference to Hugo's successful 1830 drama Hernani as an idea for a libretto caught Verdi's imagination, as seen in a letter which the latter wrote to Mocenigo in early September which expressed concerns about Allan Cameron and the way it had turned out, though noting that this was "the fault of the subject and not the poet". He continues:

"But oh, if only we could do Hernani instead that would be tremendous. I know that it would mean a great deal of trouble for the poet but my first task would be to try and compensate him... all he would have to do would be to condense and tighten up; the action is already there ready made, and it's all immensely good theatre. Tomorrow I'll write at length to Piave setting out all the scenes from Hernani which seem to me suitable."

At this point he continues with suggestions for the poet. For Verdi, the appeal of Hugo's work – which the latter described as "Romanticism or the Liberalism in literature" – was "the struggle between love and honour", and Budden sums up this appeal as "Within Hugo's scheme each illogical action follows logically from the one that precedes it, giving Verdi the pace, the eventfulness and above all the dramatic unity that he has been looking for."

Setting the play as the opera, Ernani

However, Piave was not at all pleased by this turn of events and felt that an opera based on Hernani could not be staged because of censorship. For instance, the King's first appearance in the play is from a cupboard where he has been hiding since some time after his arrival and before he meets Elvira. Thus he overhears much of the interaction between Elvira and Ernani before finally revealing himself. Verdi must have realized that no king "would ever be allowed to hide in a cupboard", according to Budden.

But the La Fenice directorate did approve the concept and the librettist was offered compensation, although he saved his Allan Cameron in reserve in case of mishap. As it evolved, the opera – originally titled Don Ruy Gomez de Silva in synopsis form – came more and more "to reflect the unique character of the parent drama" as Verdi wished to stick as closely as possible to the original play. For Budden, this "marks a new outlook in Italian opera", because this would never have occurred to either Rossini or Donizetti, for whom plots were interchangeable.

Although Verdi had agreed to try to accommodate the contralto Carolina Vietti when the opera was Allan Cameron, he was against making the leading character of Ernani a musico contralto. However, he compromised somewhat and, by the end of October, it appeared that the four voice types were to be soprano (Elvira), contralto (Ernani), tenor (Don Carlo), and baritone (de Silva), but after the acceptance of the libretto by the Venetian police, Verdi was able to hold firm and ultimately get what he wanted: a soprano, a tenor, a baritone, and – although Rosi was not an experienced enough singer – a bass in the role of de Silva. Thus it became a comprimario role, one to be sung by a second-rung singer in the company. But, as Budden notes, Verdi's "difficulties with singers were not yet over".

The season opened with I Lombardi in December 1843. It was a disaster, with terrible singing from the tenor Domenico Conti. Two other operas early in the 1843/44 season were equally poorly received. Having heard one other potential tenor, Vitali, as a possible replacement, the composer presented an ultimatum: either be released from his contract or the company would engage Carlo Guasco in the role of Ernani. With a premiere set for March, two final glitches were overcome: the bass Rosi had disappeared from consideration as de Silva but was replaced by Meini, who then withdrew because he found the part too low. Verdi then engaged a member of the chorus, the bass Antonio Selva who went on to a distinguished career. And, in spite of complaints from the soprano, Sophie Löwe, that she was not to be front and centre for the finale, she became part of the final trio.

Verdi and theatre
Budden notes the following in regard to the specific relationship between this opera and the work of Victor Hugo:

"...from the first the spirit of Hugo is there. Verdi [ten years younger than the playwright] was part of that youthful audience to which the play Hernani is addressed. The bounding energy of Hugo's alexandrines is reflected in the spirit of Verdi's music, which is far more forceful than anything he had written so far. Victor Hugo, one might say, was good for Verdi; and it significant that both the operas that he based on Hugo's plays (the other was of course Rigoletto) were landmarks in his career."

But it is the composer himself who, in a letter to Brenna, the La Fenice secretary and a friend of Piave's, sums up his own sense of theatre, of what works and what does not. This was written at a time when Piave was unhappy about the shift from his original libretto to the one for what became Ernani. With this shift came many changes of direction as issues such as casting came into consideration, and Verdi asks Brenna to communicate his feelings to the librettist:

"However little experience I may have had, I do go to the theatre [Verdi is referring to the opera house] all the year round and I pay the most careful attention to what I see and hear. I've been able to put my finger on so many works which wouldn't have failed if the pieces had been better laid out, the effects better calculated, the musical forms clearer, etc... in a word, if either the composer or the poet had been more experienced."

In effect, Verdi is taking control over all aspects of the piece, which includes the condensation of the sprawling play into his four acts. (The first two acts of Hugo's play become act 1 of the opera). Rather than allow the librettist a free hand in composing his verses, "this would have perpetuated in a diminished form the word-music division that Verdi precisely wanted to get away from. The composer's desire to take charge of every aspect of an opera implied that he had the power to decide what weight to give the text and the music, respectively, depending upon the "moment" of the action.

19th century

Budden sums up the opening night success of Ernani: nothing "prevented [the opera] from being a tremendous success. With it, Verdi's fame took a new leap which carried it at once across the boundaries of Italy. For better or worse, he was now a world composer ... [and] wherever there was an Italian opera house, Ernani arrived sooner or later." However, it was not all smooth sailing: due to Hugo's opposition, the first performances in Paris at the Théâtre des Italiens two years later required a change of title – to Il proscritto – and a change of characters' names: "The practice was followed in other cities where the names Victor Hugo and Hernani smacked of revolution." In Palermo in 1845 it became Elvira d'Aragona and in Messina in 1847 the title became Il proscritto ossia Il corsaro di Venezia. Overall, Ernani was staged in one form or another up to the mid-1850s, with "32 theatres [giving] the work in 1844, 60 in 1845, and at least 65 in 1846, not including revivals in houses that had already presented it."

The United Kingdom premiere, the first of Verdi's operas to be translated into English, took place at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on 8 March 1845 followed on 13 April 1847 by its US premiere in New York City.

20th century and beyond
Ernani appeared on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera as early as 1903 and has been given many times since then. The opera was revived in a series of new productions at the San Francisco Opera (1982), the Met (1983), the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1984), and at La Scala (1984). It was given as part of the 1997 season of the Sarasota Opera's "Verdi Cycle". The Teatro Regio di Parma, another company with the aim of presenting every Verdi opera, gave it in October 2005.

Today Ernani receives numerous performances at opera houses around the world.

Synopsis

 * Time: 1519.
 * Place: Aragon, Aachen, and Zaragoza.

Act 1
Mountains of Aragon

The bandits demand the reason for Ernani's gloom (Chorus: Evviva! Beviam! Beviam! / "To you we drink"; Ernani pensoso! / "Ernani, so gloomy? Why, oh strong one, does care sit on your brow?"). Ernani replies that he loves Elvira (Recitative: "Thanks, dear friends"; Cavatina: Come rugiada al cespite / "As the flower turns to the sun"), who is about to be married against her will to old Gomez de Silva (O tu che l'alma adora). He asks the bandits to abduct her.

In Elvira's chamber

Elvira worries about her upcoming marriage (Scena: "Now sinks the sun and Silva does not return"; Cavatina: Ernani, Ernani involami / "Ernani, Ernani, save me") as servants deliver Silva's wedding presents to her. She reaffirms her love for Ernani (Tutto sprezzo che d'Ernani / "I scorn everything which does not speak to my heart of Ernani"). King Carlo, disguised as a peasant, enters, but Elvira recognizes him and rejects the love that he offers her. As he attempts to use force, she grasps a dagger, but Ernani suddenly arrives and stops Carlo (Trio: "A friend comes quickly to your aid"). Carlo recognizes Ernani as the leader of the bandits. Ernani replies that Carlo robbed him of his lands and forced him into a life of banditry. As he invites Carlo to fight, Silva appears and sees Ernani (Infelice!... e tu credevi... che mai vegg'io! / "Dreadful sight"; Silva's cavatina: "Unhappy man! You thought this lovely...was yours").

 * [La Scala, Autumn 1844, Silva's cabaletta added: "Infin che un brando vindice" using music originally written for Verdi's first opera, Oberto]

Ernani offers to fight them both when Riccardo approaches and recognises the king. Silva is horrified and apologizes to the king, while Ernani whispers to Elvira to prepare to flee.

Act 2
A hall in Silva's palace Ernani enters disguised as a pilgrim. He asks for shelter, which Silva grants him, and then learns from Silva that he is about to marry Elvira, who believes Ernani to be dead. Ernani reveals his true identity to Elvira and she tells him that she plans to kill herself at the altar (Duet: Ah, morir potessi adesso / "Ah, if I could die now"). Silva walks in at that moment, discovers the pair, but agrees to keep his word to Ernani and protect him from the king, for which Ernani will owe him a perpetual debt. (Trio: No, vendetta più tremenda / "No, I want to keep a greater revenge"). Carlo arrives and wishes to know why the castle is barred. Silva refuses to surrender Ernani (Carlo's aria: Lo vedremo, veglio audace / "We shall see, you bold old man") and Don Carlo's men cannot find Ernani's hiding place. Silva keeps his word, even when the king secures Elvira as a hostage. Silva releases Ernani, and then challenges him to a duel. Ernani refuses to fight, but unites with Silva in his plans to free Elvira from the king. Ernani swears to appear at the summons of Silva, wherever he may be at that time (Odi il voto o grande Iddio / "Oh God, hear the vow"),

[''Added for Parma, 26 December 1844: "at Rossini's request, Verdi wrote a grand aria for the tenor Nicola Ivanoff". Ernani gathers his men to him. His aria of vengeance: Sprezzo la vita né più m'alletta / "Life means nothing to me, only hope of vengeance" concludes the act]''.

Act 3
In the burial vault of Charles the Great at Aachen

Carlo visits the grave of the emperor Charlemagne (Carlo Magno), whose successor, the new Holy Roman Emperor, is being elected by delegates from the relevant countries. Carlo resolves to change his life if he is crowned (Cavatina: Oh, de' verd'anni miei/ "Oh, the dreams and deceits of my youth"). Hiding behind the vault, he overhears a gathering of conspirators including Silva and Ernani. Ernani swears to murder Carlo. The conspiracy is foiled when Carlo's attendants enter and surprise the conspirators. The king commands that all the traitorous noblemen be executed. Ernani steps forward, declaring that thus he must die too; he is not the bandit Ernani, but Don Juan of Aragon, whose lands were taken from him. Elvira, who had been brought to Carlo as his intended empress, begs mercy for her lover, and Carlo, whose mood has changed, forgives them both and places Elvira's hand in that of Ernani.

Act 4
Ernani's Castle

Elvira and Ernani have just been married, when, in consternation, Ernani hears a bugle call. Silva arrives and silently hands Ernani a dagger. Ernani asks for time to "sip from the cup of love" (Ascolta, ascolta un detto ancor/ "Listen, just one word...") but, cursed by Silva as a coward, Ernani keeps his oath and stabs himself in the heart (Trio with Silva: È vano, o donna, il piangere, è vano / "Your weeping is in vain, woman"). He dies in Elvira's arms, telling her to live.

Orchestration
Ernani is scored for one piccolo, one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, one bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, one cimbasso, one harp, timpani, bass drum and cymbals, snare drum, on-stage band with on-stage bass drum, one offstage horn, six offstage trumpets, and strings.

Music
Noting that the dramatic structure of this opera "brought about a fresh consideration of the fixed forms of Italian opera, in particular an expansion and enrichment of the solo aria and duet together with a more flexible approach to the musical sequences that bind together lyrical pieces", Roger Parker continues by stating that of greatest importance was "Verdi's gathering sense of musical drama's larger rhetoric, his increasing control over the dynamics of entire acts rather than merely of entire numbers. In this respect, the third act of Ernani sets up an imposing standard of coherence, one that is rarely equalled until the operas of the early 1850s."

However, it is writer Gabriele Baldini (whose specialization was in English literature) who in 1980 points to one of the most significant aspects of Ernani's dramatic and musical structure, the concept of male vocal archetypes, something which is echoed in Budden's 1984 chapter on this opera. Baldini writes of the musical conflicts inherent in the drama as a result of the use of certain voice types:

"A youthful, passionate female voice is besieged by three male voices, each of whom establishes a specific relationship with her. The siege is fruitless. The male voices, or rather registers, meet with various fates, and each is granted a relationship with the woman, although on different levels. This relationship varies in intensity of passion according to the distance between the soprano register and the particular male voice."

Therefore, it is the lowest voice [the bass, de Silva], which is "farthest away, and thus his relationship is the coldest and most retrained". The baritone [the King, Don Carlo] "manages to draw somewhat closer, although indirectly and ambiguously", but Baldini continues by noting that it the highest male voice [the tenor, Ernani] who "gets near a relationship which if not complete ... is at least reciprocated for long periods".

Finally, while Baldini agrees with Parker that it is act 3 of Ernani which is the strongest – "in my opinion it marks the first occasion on which Verdi enclosed within a fairly extended musical space (about twenty five minutes) a perfect structural unit" – he also echoes Budden and De Van in noting the importance of the opening horn motif and references to the horn which recur throughout the opera and which ends with the final horn call, the fatal summons to Ernani by de Silva.

Recordings
The first complete recording of an opera was the 1904 recording of Ernani, on 40 single-sided discs, by the Gramophone Company in England. Later recordings include:

Cited sources

 * Baldini, Gabriele, (trans. Roger Parker) (1980), The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera. Cambridge, et al.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29712-5
 * Budden, Julian (1984), The Operas of Verdi, Volume 1: From Oberto to Rigoletto. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-31058-1.
 * De Van, Gilles (trans. Gilda Roberts) (1998), Verdi’s Theater: Creating Drama Through Music. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-14369-4 (hardback), ISBN 0-226-14370-8
 * Kimbell, David, in Holden, Amanda (ed.) (2001), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
 * Melitz, Leo (1921), opera synopsis in The Opera Goer's Complete Guide
 * Parker, Roger (1998), "Ernani in Stanley Sadie, (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 2, pp. 70–73. London: MacMillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7
 * Verdi, Giuseppe, Ernani, full score critical edition, ed. Claudio Gallico, Chicago & Milan: University of Chicago Press & G. Ricordi, 1985. ISBN 0-226-85307-1.

Other sources

 * Gossett, Philip (2006), Divas and Scholar: Performing Italian Opera, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-30482-5
 * Martin, George,  Verdi: His Music, Life and Times (1983), New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. ISBN 0-396-08196-7
 * Osborne, Charles (1969), The Complete Opera of Verdi, New York: Da Capo Press, Inc. ISBN 0-306-80072-1
 * Parker, Roger (2007), The New Grove Guide to Verdi and His Operas, Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531314-7
 * Pistone, Danièle (1995), Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera: From Rossini to Puccini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-82-9
 * Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane (1993), Verdi: A Biography, London & New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-313204-4
 * Toye, Francis (1931), Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works, New York: Knopf
 * Walker, Frank, The Man Verdi (1982), New York: Knopf, 1962, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-87132-0
 * Werfel, Franz and Stefan, Paul (1973), Verdi: The Man and His Letters, New York, Vienna House. ISBN 0-8443-0088-8

title: Ernani