Out & about

Love. Propriety. Sacrifice. Misunderstanding. Reconciliation. Death. So runs the tragic story of Giuseppe Verdis opera, La Traviata. Astoria Music Festival audiences enjoyed a fine staging of the opera in concert last Saturday.

La Traviata

In mid-19th century Paris, a young gentleman, Alfredo, confesses his love to a French courtesan, Violetta, at a party. Three months later, the two are living in the country, deeply in love though troubled by finances.

One day, while her lover is away, Violetta is visited by Alfredos father, Germont. He says their scandalous relationship is ruining the family; Alfredos younger sisters marriage is in jeopardy. In the strict face of social morality, Violetta is persuaded to sacrifice her happiness and leave her lover. Alfredo is heartbroken; at one point after winning at the gambling table, he throws money at her feet. Through all this, Violetta has been ill with tuberculosis, her small cough growing more pronounced as time passes. Eventually, though the two lovers reunite, she dies in Alfredos arms.

The music festivals production of Verdis opera was dramatic and lyrical. The sighing strings lent a rosy hue to the evening. Both acts opened with a party scene, juxtaposing the different moods and tensions at play: In the first act, chorus members were jolly and light; in the second, the orchestra was manic and driven by the combative drums.

As Alfredo, John Matthew Meyers tenor was as smooth and rich as butter, a good fit for a romantic lead.

Soprano Angela Meade enchanted with incredible vocal control. At the end of the first act, her voice matched the piercing melancholy notes of the clarinet, conveying her heartbreaking decision to leave Alfredo. In her duets with bass Richard Zeller, who played Germont, their powerhouse voices commanded the stage and filled the house no surprise from the two Metropolitan Opera veterans.

An enduring story

Beyond talented singers and captivating music, one thing that has always stood out to me about this opera is the endurance of its tragic story.

In 1844, Alexandre Dumas, fils, met and had an affair with the French courtesan Marie Duplessis. Just three years later, she died of tuberculosis at age 23. The next year, 1848, Dumas published La dame aux Camélias (The Lady of the Camellias) as a novel, inspired by Duplessis. Since then, the story has only grown.

Dumas adapted his own novel for the stage in 1852 and on seeing the play in Paris, Verdi quickly set about creating his operatic version, which premiered only a year later. (Dumas named her Marguerite; Verdi dubbed her Violetta but the story is the same.)

Now, there are about 20 film adaptations domestic and foreign films as well as ballets, and a musical set during World War II. Ive actually seen the 1921 silent film Camille, starring Rudolph Valentino, and the 1936 version starring Greta Garbo, for which she received an Academy Award nomination.

The plot has gone on to influence modern pop culture.

Erich Segals 1970 novel Love Story and the film version of the same year, starring Ryan ONeal and Ali MacGraw contains echoes of the basic plot of Dumas story: Love, a disapproving father and death.

Baz Luhrmanns 2001 film Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, is a loose hybrid of La Traviata and Puccinis La Bohème. Certain images stand out: Satine and Christians love, money flung at her feet, the heroine sadly succumbing to tuberculosis.

1990s Pretty Woman is another example of the storys endurance. Though Julia Roberts Vivian and Richard Geres Edward live happily ever after (no bloody handkerchiefs in sight), the two stories share similarities: The hooker with the heart of gold and the gentleman must navigate their relationship through modern notions of morality and social economics. In fact, as a nod to its roots, in the film, Edward takes Vivian to see La Traviata. Her visible emotional reaction to Violettas plight makes for an interesting meta display of art.