Music Director
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi was Italy's finest opera composer of Italy during the 19th century. He composed twenty-eight operas including Nabucco. Macbeth, Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Aida, and Otello.. Verdi's style was influenced by Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. His orchestration and counterpoint are beautiful but Verdi is most loved for his exquisite melodies.
La Traviata is an opera in four acts set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on the novel La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas. It was first performed at the Teatro la Fenice on March 6, 1853. The title La Traviata means literally The Woman Who Strayed, or perhaps more poetically The Lost One. The opera is the story of Alfredo and Violetta and the circumstances which prevent them from being together.
Program notes by Beth Bergman Fisher
Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts