Giuseppe Verdi

LA TRAVIATA Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer’s richly textured new production, featuring a dazzling 19th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez returns to the Met for the first time since 2015 to sing the role of Alfredo, Violetta’s hapless lover. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is Alfredo’s father, Germont, who destroys their love. Later performances feature Anita Hartig, Stephen Costello, Artur Ruciński, and Plácido Domingo. The Coutisane Violetta, supported by a rich baron, dazzles with luxury and pleasure. When young Alfredo Germont burst into his life, she abandons worldly Paris to live a peaceful life with him, but pressed by the debts and the honor of her lover, she will have to make up her mind to sacrifice her love. The timeless tragedy of Verdi, inspired by Alexandre Dumas Jr.'s The Lady with Camellias, takes on all its splendor in this new production with dazzling decorations that will see the seasons pass through the opera. The famous soprano Diana Damrau and the tenor Juan Diego Flórez will incarnate the damned lovers.

Conductor

Yannick Nézet-Seguin

Violetta

Diana Damrau

soprano

Alfredo

Germont

Juan Diego Flórez

tenor

Giorgo

Germont

Quinn Kelsey

baryton

DATE : Saturday December 15 2018

Time : 6.25 Opera in 3 acts by Giuseppe Verdi

LE BUGUE LE BUGUE LE BUGUE LE BUGUE

Salle Eugène Le Roy Réservation : Maison de la

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LA TRAVIATA

World premiere: Venice, Teatro la Fenice, 1853.

Verdi’s La Traviata survived a notoriously unsuccessful opening night to become one of the best-loved operas in the repertoire. Following the larger-scale dramas of Rigoletto and Il Trovatore, its intimate scope and subject matter inspired the composer to create some of his most profound and heartfelt music. The title role of the “fallen woman” has captured the imaginations of audiences and performers alike with its inexhaustible vocal and dramatic possibilities—and challenges. Violetta is considered a pinnacle of the soprano repertoire.

Setting

With La Traviata, Verdi and Piave

fashioned an opera from a play set in

contemporary times—an exception in

the composer’s long career.

Dumas’s La Dame aux Camélias was

a meditation on the author’s youthful

affair with the celebrated prostitute

Marie Duplessis, known as a

sophisticated and well-read woman

whose charms and tact far surpassed

her station. The play is still staged

today in its original form and exists in

several film incarnations, most

notably Greta Garbo’s

Camille (1936).

Music

La Traviata is such a well-known opera that it has practically been scorned by aesthetes let alone treated with total indifference by musicians. Nevertheless the best of Verdi can be found in the score which he took just 12 days to orchestrate: the dramatic efficiency of music is always accompanied by surprising discoveries on harmonic, melodic or rhythmic levels which seem to penetrate into the intimacy of the Lady of the Camelias. Let us recall that the great progress represented by the Verdian trilogy is to reach a balance between the drama and the music. Verdi is a great playwright, one can almost say that he is the Italian Shakespeare: he thinks music and at the same time he thinks theatre. La Traviata is the culmination of all his past research and the starting point for a new aesthetic. The opera is admirably divided into sections almost frame by frame; each setting is individual, marked by the desire to melt the tunes into a larger whole. The vocal writing is of a lyricism at the same time virtuistic (especially in the 1st act) and expressive which goes through all the colours of passion. The music is the slave of feelings, in the whirlwind of festivities and heartbreaks. We are in the Second Empire and Paris is realing in a whirlwind of festivities. Verdi, the man of the theatre, succeeds in plunging the spectator into this atmosphere of frivolity by giving a great importance to the dance music in the score: the theme of the waltz dominates and gives the general tone of the work. He also introduced some fashionable dance tunes. He thus succeeded in preserving the carefree music of Parisian party life in total diverse conversation. It is a base on which the voices are placed freely, which allows to adopt a style close to conversation which produces an effect of realism. All this gives the work its particular colour, as for Verdi it was very important to mark each of his works with a seal that was individual to him and so that it was not possible to confuse it with another.

Composer Giuseppe Verdi 1813-1901

Verdi was born on October 10, 1813 in La Roncole, near Parma, then under French domination, subsequently taken over by Austria in 1814 and finally Italy in 1847. Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, the son of traders, was thus French for a few months then Austrian for 33 years, until the renewed conquest by the Milanese, the first stage of the reunification of Italy. He quickly showed musical talents that his parents, although not musicians, discovered very early on. The progress of the child was startling and at nine years he was the village organist, which earned him a small remuneration. Aware that he should be given more serious training, his father entrusted Verdi to Antonio Barezzi, an amateur musician, director of the local philharmonic association of the neighboring town of Busseto. He went to live there for some hard years of study. The latter has Verdi living in. At sixteen, his reputation had already extended outside Busseto. Verdi started composing. At the age of 18, he left for Milan to continue his training. Nevertheless, he had to take composition lessons with Vincenzo Lavigna, the conductor of La Scala, because he was refused by the conservatory. He remembered it at the end of his life by refusing to allow this conservatory to bear his name. This done in a fit of anger.

Career In 1836, Giuseppe Verdi returned to Busseto where he stayed for three years. The vacant organist position at the cathedral escaped him because of his atheism. However, he obtained a position as professor at the city’s school of music which allowed him in 1836 to marry Margherita, Barezzi’s daughter. He composed a series of marches and overtures and then his opera Oberto. In 1838, he left Busseto and settled in Milan. Oberto was presented at La Scala and was a triumph. The director of La Scala immediately commissioned the young composer to come up with other works. At that time, Verdi also experienced unhappiness because he successively lost his two young children and then when he had finished Un giorno di regno, in 1840 Margherita also died. To top his misfortune, his second opera, performed on September 5, 1840 was a disaster. It was removed from the poster right from the start, mainly due to the weakness of the book but also the music. Verdi never succeeded in getting over this dramatic setback. Yet, two years later, with the backing of Bartolomeo Merelli, the impresario of the Milan theatre, Verdi wrote Nabucco. Put on at La Scala de Milan on March 9, 1842, the work was a huge success. It evokes the fate of the Jews, oppressed by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The Milanese, then under Austrian occupation, did not hesitate in identifying themselves with the Hebrews. The Opera was then interpreted as the call of a people for its independence with, as a culminating point, the famous "Va, pensiero", a true hymn to freedom.

The reputation of Verdi extended to the whole of Italy. For the next ten years, he committed himself to a series of operas (Il Lombardi, 1843, Ernani, 1844, Luisa Miller, 1849), such was he pressurised by the impresarios. In 1847 he composed Macbeth, a work inspired by Shakespeare. This opera is generally considered his first great masterpiece. Suffering from nervous tension and various ills, Verdi was at this time very demanding and frequently squabbled with the direction of La Scala. His fame had largely extended beyond Italy. Hating public life, he lived privately not far away from Busseto and was nicknamed "the bear". From 1849, he lived, partly in Paris, with Giuseppina Strepponi, a former lyric singer who exerted a good influence on him. He gave the Sicilian Vespers with great success, a work which brought him praise from a certain Hector Berlioz, who was very miserly with compliments. He then composed his popular trilogy: Rigoletto, Le Trouvère and La Traviata. However, his relationship with the singer shocked his native province because of two illegitimate children. He only married Giuseppina ten years later in 1859. Verdi devoted most of his time until 1870 in composing for the Paris Opera (A Masked Ball, 1859, Don Carlo, 1867). At that time two names stood out on the European stages: Richard Wagner and Verdi. Verdi’s collaboration with the musicians of the Opera (which he called "the big shop") sometimes proved difficult. Tired, he went off slamming the door. He then spent his time in agricultural activities on his farm of Sant'Agata.

Verdi and politics Few musicians have incarnated with so much force a moment in the political history of their country. His very name symbolized the revolt against Austria which had occupied the north of Italy since the fall of Napoleon in 1815. When a patriot shouted "viva VERDI! "It meant" Vive Vittorio-Emmanuele Re D'Italia ". It was a call to fight for the reunification of Italy under the banner of the King of Sardinia. Verdi’s popularity was not by chance. It began with the creation in 1842 of his 3rd opera, Nabucco. Following that, his fame never faded and he became the flag bearer of the Risorgimento, especially since he returned several times to patriotic themes: the choruses of his operas give the floor to the people and they are sung everywhere. When in 1870 Italy finally regained its unity, he was considered a national hero and sat in parliament.

Last years Verdi remained active for a very long time: at age 57 he composed Aida for the inaugural celebrations for the opening of the Suez Canal. In fact, the work only took place two years later, in 1871, at the inauguration of the opera of Cairo. This opera was a triumph two months later at La Scala. In 1872, on the death of the great Italian writer, Manzoni, Verdi composed a Messa da Requiem in his memory, a sort of "opera in an ecclesiastical dress" (according to a critic of the time), which depicts entreaties to the Lord. Performed on the 22 May 1874 in Milan, it was immediately a triumph across Europe. At over seventy, he still wrote two more operas: Otello and finally Falstaff, which is an enormous outburst of laughter, with all the youth of a composer who has enjoyed 80 springs. At the end of his life, he devoted himself to various charitable works and his vigour amazed the whole of Italy. In 1897, Giuseppina died. Their relationship had lasted more than fifty years. The composer was deeply affected and his health declined. In 1901, whilst staying in Milan, he suffered from cerebral haemorrhage. He died at the age of 88 and was buried in Milan. The whole of Italy was in mourning. An immense choir led by Toscanini sang Va pensiero.

Synopsis

ACT I

Violetta Valéry knows that she will die soon, exhausted by her restless life as a courtesan. At a party she is introduced to Alfredo Germont, who has been fascinated by her for a long time. Rumor has it that he has been enquiring after her health every day. The guests are amused by this seemingly naïve and emotional attitude, and they ask Alfredo to propose a toast. He celebrates true love, and Violetta responds in praise of free love (Ensemble: “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici”). She is touched by his candid manner and honesty. Suddenly she feels faint, and the guests withdraw. Only Alfredo remains behind and declares his love (Duet: “Un dì felice”). There is no place for such feelings in her life, Violetta replies. But she gives him a camellia, asking him to return when the flower has faded. He realizes this means he will see her again the following day. Alone, Violetta is torn by conflicting emotions—she doesn’t want to give up her way of life, but at the same time she feels that Alfredo has awakened her desire to be truly loved (“Ah, fors’è lui… Sempre libera”).

ACT II

Violetta has chosen a life with Alfredo, and they enjoy their love in the country, far from society (“De’ miei bollenti spiriti”). When Alfredo discovers that this is only possible because Violetta has been selling her property, he immediately leaves for Paris to procure money. Violetta has received an invitation to a masked ball, but she no longer cares for such distractions. In Alfredo’s absence, his father, Giorgio Germont, pays her a visit. He demands that she separate from his son, as their relationship threatens his daughter’s impending marriage (Duet: “Pura siccome un angelo”). But over the course of their conversation, Germont comes to realize that Violetta is not after his son’s money—she is a woman who loves unselfishly. He appeals to Violetta’s generosity of spirit and explains that, from a bourgeois point of view, her liaison with Alfredo has no future. Violetta’s resistance dwindles and she finally agrees to leave Alfredo forever. Only after her death shall he learn the truth about why she returned to her old life. She accepts the invitation to the ball and writes a goodbye letter to her lover. Alfredo returns, and while he is reading the letter, his father appears to console him (“Di Provenza”). But all the memories of home and a happy family can’t prevent the furious and jealous Alfredo from seeking revenge for Violetta’s apparent betrayal.

At the masked ball, news has spread of Violetta and Alfredo’s separation. There are grotesque dance entertainments, ridiculing the duped lover. Meanwhile, Violetta and her new lover, Baron Douphol, have arrived. Alfredo and the baron battle at the gaming table and Alfredo wins a fortune: lucky at cards, unlucky in love. When everybody has withdrawn, Alfredo confronts Violetta, who claims to be truly in love with the Baron. In his rage Alfredo calls the guests as witnesses and declares that he doesn’t owe Violetta anything. He throws his winnings at her. Giorgio Germont, who has witnessed the scene, rebukes his son for his behavior. The baron challenges his rival to a duel.

ACT III

Violetta is dying. Her last remaining friend, Doctor Grenvil, knows that she has only a few more hours to live. Alfredo’s father has written to Violetta, informing her that his son was not injured in the duel. Full of remorse, he has told him about Violetta’s sacrifice. Alfredo wants to rejoin her as soon as possible. Violetta is afraid that he might be too late (“Addio, del passato”). The sound of rampant celebrations are heard from outside while Violetta is in mortal agony. But Alfredo does arrive and the reunion fills Violetta with a final euphoria (Duet: “Parigi, o cara”). Her energy and exuberant joy of life return. All sorrow and suffering seems to have left her—a final illusion, before death claims her.

Next broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera New York

ADRIANA LECOUVREUR

Composer Francesco Cilea

Saturday January 12 2019 18h25