The name of the Italian master, Giuseppe Verdi, is synonymous with opera. He penned twenty six during the course of his long life and today his works are heard more often in theatres around the world than those written by any other composer. La Traviata was not an immediate success. The audience did not find the original casting credible and both cheers and jeers marked its premiere in Venice on 6 March 1853. Verdi himself was no doubt frustrated by the refusal of the state censor for the opera to be staged in a contemporary setting as he had intended. Happily no such restrictions now apply and La Traviata has become the most performed and possibly the most popular of all of Verdi’s compositions. The story of La Traviata is a triumph of true love over the hypocrisy of bourgeois social mores and perhaps explains why this opera, with its modern day sentiments, has endured. Violetta, a courtesan who is dying of tuberculosis, falls for a nobleman called Alfredo. Alfredo’s father, Germont, deems the relationship to be an unsuitable match and resorts to emotional blackmail to persuade Violetta to break up with his son. Later realising the error of his ways and the distress he has caused, he reveals his deception to the two lovers in time for them to be reconciled shortly before Violetta passes away. The National Theatre in Prague is delighted to stage La Traviata; the opera shows off not just Verdi’s innate talent for melody, wonderfully captured by the heartfelt aria “Sempre libera”, but also his capacity for writing music that faithfully supports both the narrative and the characterisation of the protagonists.

Navnet på den italienske mester, Giuseppe Verdi, er synonymt med opera. Han lavede seksogtyve i løbet af sit lange liv, og i dag høres hans værker oftere i teatre over hele verden end dem, der er skrevet af nogen anden komponist. La Traviata var ikke en umiddelbar succes. Publikum fandt ikke, at den originale casting var troværdig, og både jubel og jæger markerede sin premiere i Venedig den 6. marts 1853. Verdi selv var uden tvivl frustreret over afvisning af statscensoren for, at operaen skulle opføres i en moderne omgivelse, som han havde tilsigtet. Heldigvis gælder der ikke sådanne begrænsninger, og La Traviata er blevet den mest udførte og muligvis den mest populære af alle Verdis kompositioner. Historien om La Traviata er en triumf af ægte kærlighed over hykleriet i de borgerlige sociale morer og måske forklarer, hvorfor denne opera med sine moderne følelser har varet. Violetta, en courtesan, der er ved at dø af tuberkulose, falder for en adelsmand kaldet Alfredo. Alfredos far, Germont, betragter forholdet som en uegnet kamp og tager imod følelsesmæssig afpresning for at overtale Violetta til at bryde op med sin søn. Senere indså han fejlen i hans måder og den nød, han har forårsaget, afslører han sin bedrag til de to elskere i tide til, at de skal forenes kort før Violetta dør.Nationaltheatret i Prag glæder sig over scenen La Traviata; operaen viser ikke kun Verdis medfødte talent for melodi, vidunderligt fanget af den inderlige aria ”Semper libera”, men også hans evne til at skrive musik, der trofast understøtter både fortællingen og karakteriseringen af ​​hovedpersonerne.