Her life seems a party that never ends. Violetta Valéry, the celebrated courtesan, has it all: wealthy lovers, friends, and money. But then she falls in love with young Alfredo. Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont, disapproves of their relationship and persuades her to leave his son to save the reputation of his family. Violetta puts an end to her relationship with Alfredo. He is furious, but does not know that Violetta is already seriously ill. When he realises the sacrifice Violetta has made for him, Alfredo repents. Together with his father, he visits Violetta on her deathbed, but it is too late: Violetta dies in the arms of the man she loves…
These days, we can hardly imagine the outrage Verdi caused when he made the story of the prostitute Violetta Valéry the starting point for one of his operas. The subject of the fallen woman who has to sacrifice her love and then dies from tuberculosis was not considered a respectable topic for a stage play. But Verdi was adamant. He had a personal relationship with the story as well, as he was cohabiting, unmarried, with a former opera singer whose life could not exactly be described as 'impeccable'. In this light, La traviata may be seen as the composer’s answer to the rumours and gossip. However, Verdi's artistic ambitions went much further. He considered the topic an issue of his time and interpreted it as a moralistic parable rather than a realistic drama.
Verdi’s compelling music, with many well-known melodies, fits in perfectly with the story and will leave no one untouched.
The opera will be directed by the Dutch director Floris Visser; in 2015, audiences voted his production of Orphée et Eurydice with the Reisopera Opera of the Year
Sung in Italian with Dutch surtitels
La traviata is a coproduction by Nederlandse Reisopera and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam.