Lyrics An Introduction to … VERDI La traviata: Introduction - David Timson

La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
It is hard to say, isn't it, why that music sounds so intensely
Nostalgic? Listening to those opening bars of the prelude to
Verdi's La Traviata, we have an irresistible sense of a sort of
Musical déjà vu, as if we have been there and it is our life that
Is being recalled. It is for this reason that many stage directors
Have chosen to stage the prelude. Instead of leaving the curtain
Decently down, they show Violetta on her deathbed, recalling
In her mind the events of the opera we are about to encounter
We'll return in a moment to speculate on why that music bears the mark
Of authentic memory, but in the meantime, let's reflect a little on
The young composer who created with this his 18th opera, a scandal
And a masterpiece. Verdi was born in 1813, and most of his
Early operas were based on biblical or distant historical subjects
As most operas were in those days. He spent his young manhood
In what was in effect an occupied country. Austrian domination
Of northern Italy was a fact of his young life, and like most
Occupying forces, the Austrians practiced stern political
Censorship. So for that matter did the Papal States that controlled
Central Italy. So mythological subjects and stories of long
Ago were a safer bet in a paranoid and censor-ridden society
But La Traviata would run into another form of censorship — moral
Censorship. Nowadays, when we live in an age when attending opera is
About as respectable a way as you'll find to pass an evening, it is
Hard for us to understand just how shocked our ancestors could be by
The latest opera. The play in the film Amadeus reminded us of just
How revolutionary, subversive even, the marriage of Figaro appeared
In its day. No assessment of the initial impact of Bizet's Carmen
Can fail to note that the heroine was a member of a despised
Minority. Carmen is a gypsy, hardly a suitable person to be an
Operatic heroine. But worse still, the heroine of La Traviata is a
Prostitute. La Traviata — the woman who went astray, is the slightly
Comical, literal translation. Call her what you will, audiences of
Verdi's day and for long after were appalled that the maestro should
Choose such a character as his heroine. So it came to pass that the
Premiere was given not as Verdi had intended, in modern dress, but
In the ruffles and frills of an imaginary England of the time of
Charles I. Amazingly, this tradition continued in whole or in part
Well through the 19th century, so that George Bernard Shaw, who in
Addition to being a playwright was also a music critic, could write
In 1890 of "Violetta in the latest Paris confections and Alfredo in
Full Louis XIV fig." Despite its moral problems, or maybe as a result
Of them, the role of Violetta is beloved of sopranos. It offers the
Most marvelous musical and dramatic opportunities to a singer-
Actress with what Verdi called "the looks, soul, and good stage
Presence to command the role." The singer is given some of Verdi's
Greatest melodies. The role has its flashy moments, its moments of
High drama, moments of great poignancy, and a
Very protracted death scene. Sentimental? Yes
But what is life without a bit of sentimentality?