LA TRAVIATA Comes to Den Norske Opera

La Traviata comes to Den Norske Opera this month. Performances run 23 September–​2 February.

Welcome to the roaring 20s! 

Violetta Valéry lives in a world where there’s no such thing as too much sparkle, status and sensation. No one plays the role of working girl better than her.  

But when Violetta meets the poet Alfredo, it is her first encounter with freedom and love.  

Free or fallen? 

We find ourselves in Paris in 1925 in the Golden Age of Art Deco. Director Rodula Gaitanou explores what is real and what is staged. 

 Giuseppe Verdi’s light violins are almost gasping for air. In contrast, we hear the voracious party music of the bordello, where Violetta Valéry triumphantly sings ‘Sempre Libera!’ – always free.  

La Traviata is the third in Verdi’s La trilogia popolare – a hitlist that also includes Rigoletto and The Troubadour. 

Based on a true story  

The narrative is based on a true story and the novel The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas. In real life, Marie Duplessis was a famous courtesan in Parisian high society. The character Alfredo, Violetta’s lover, is based on Dumas’ own life story.  

Verdi’s political opera was denounced, as many believed that it encouraged sexual promiscuity. The English doctor William Acton called the phenomenon Traviata-ism. The expression described the insight gained by the audience as they walked home from the opera – along Haymarket in London – and realised that Violetta could be found everywhere.  

Her story has since been told over and over again, such as in Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge! – as well as in the countless productions of Verdi’s opera. 

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