La Traviata: A Conversation with Saul Lilienstein

This article is the fourth installment in a series of my conversations with Washington, D.C.-based opera scholar, Saul Lilienstein, about the Verdi operas scheduled for broadcast this season on WETA Classical’s Opera Matinee Saturday afternoon feature.  We’re delighted to hear Mr. Lilienstein’s insights into opera, many of which he has shared throughout the Washington, D.C. community through his involvement with professional arts organizations, universities and The Smithsonian. This conversation includes references to comments Mr. Lilienstein previously presented in his lecture series for Washington National Opera.

Here, we discuss Verdi’s La traviata, presented by the Metropolitan Opera as part of its Artist’s Choice series in a recorded 2007 performance, on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 1:00 pm (ET) and broadcast on WETA Classical’s Opera Matinee.

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Linda Carducci:  Like Verdi’s Rigoletto, there is a French connection to La Traviata.  It’s based on an 1848 novel by Alexandre Dumas fils,  “La Dame aux Camelias”, a fictionalized account of his real-life relationship in the 1840s with the courtesan Marie Duplessis, who died from tuberculosis. This novel was an enormous success for Dumas, but it was considered scandalous when it was presented as a play.  What was Verdi’s connection to it?

Saul Lilienstein:  Yes, Dumas fils adapted his novel – his most popular work -- as a play in 1849, but it so scandalized society that it was banned until 1852.  Here was a tragic story of a free-spirited courtesan, named Marguerite in this fictionalized version, who lives life of freedom and pleasure. She falls in love and abandons her life as a courtesan to settle down with her lover.  But their life is shattered when his father demands that she leave his son out of respectability and social norms, and his fear that Marguerite’s reputation may harm his daughter’s chance to marry a proper man.  Marguerite nobly honors the father’s wishes and sacrifices love.  She abandons her lover and then dies of consumption.  Why was Verdi drawn to the story of “La Dame aux Camelias”?  Because it resonated with him personally.  Several years earlier, while he was still a young opera composer, he lost his beloved wife and children to illness, losses that devastated him and led him to temporarily withdraw from composing.  He eventually returned with Nabucco in 1841, and it was during a production of that opera in Vienna in 1843 that he began a romantic relationship with the singer Giuseppina Strepponi, a romance that lasted through his lifetime.  But their relationship was treated with hostility by the conservative community of Busseto, where they lived.  Giuseppina’s reputation was suspect: she had a career on the stage – at that time, considered disreputable for women ---, she had past lovers and children outside of marriage, and she and Verdi lived together unmarried for several years (they eventually married in 1859.)   

Verdi and Giuseppina were still smarting from their hometown’s reception when they visited Paris in 1851-52 and saw Dumas fils’s play.  It greatly affected Verdi; he saw similarities to his own life with Giuseppina and the treatment they received from the community.  In his mind, here was a contemporary story, worthy of an operatic interpretation.  He moved quickly and engaged librettist Francesco Maria Piave, who had earlier provided the libretto to Verdi’s Rigoletto, for a new opera to premiere at La Fenice opera house in Venice.  The Marguerite of Dumas fil’s story became Violetta in Verdi’s version, and he gave it a working title of Amore è morte (Love and Death).  It’s the perfect way to capture the story of La Traviata, but then again, isn’t that the appropriate title for most operas?

La Traviata was dear to Verdi’s heart.  He called Violetta “the poor sinner” and that “one day I will make the whole world honor her” as a believable, modern woman.   

LC:  So the choice of subject was Verdi’s way of shamelessly showing a way of life – his way of life – as worthy of respect.  Did Verdi encounter any objections to this subject?

SL:  Oh, yes. Verdi was often frustrated by the demands and objections of his presenters. In this case, the Venice producers objected not to the subject matter but to Verdi’s desire to stage it in modern dress. Remember, Verdi was skeptical of, if not hostile to, authority and was sensitive to the public reaction he and Giuseppina faced, so his idea to stage La Traviata in modern dress was his way of placing a mirror on their society to reflect their petty conventions and prejudices.  The only way it could be mounted in Venice, he was told, was to place the story during the time of Louis IV (17th and early 18th century).  He reluctantly agreed, but that wasn’t the only problem in the production.  He distressed over the artistic limitations of the soprano chosen for the title role.  And poor Piave!  Verdi, as usual, was merciless with him almost to the point of being cruel, criticizing Piave’s words and issuing harsh demands. The written correspondence between Verdi and Piave during this creative process gives you a good look at Verdi’s work practices and the extent that he micromanaged the whole production. 

The initial performances of this intimate, small-scale and heartbreaking opera in Venice were moderately successful.  There were some cheers at certain points, but overall the audience treated it with indifference -- where was the high drama, the dashing heroics, the high Gothic romance and political power plays so typical of opera?  The intimacy was off-putting to them.  So was the soprano who sang the role of Violetta. She was considered too old and robust to portray a frail young woman dying of tuberculosis.

Verdi was angry at the reaction.  So in later productions, he took control – he became stage director, coach and conductor, not unlike Richard Wagner, who not only wrote the music and libretti to his operas but also coached the singers and got up on stage to show them how to act.

LC:  The story, the characters, the settings, the music of La Traviata are not typical of Verdi operas.

SL:  La Traviata is different in large part because it’s domestic, not based on war, heroics, royalty or power struggles.  Scenes take place in homes, and aside from the glittering party that opens the first scene (more about that later), many of the scenes have only two or three characters.  There are many, many duets that emphasize the human nature of the tale.  Its scale, and what Verdi does within that, makes it an opera that is about as close as possible to a perfect work of art.  It’s also a very modern opera when you consider other operas written at the same time – Wagner’s Ring cycle, for example, which has a mythical landscape.  The landscape of La traviata is common life, a little tragedy of two lovers torn apart by society’s prejudices.

LC:  This intimate gem is part of his famous trilogy of operas: Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), and La traviata (1853).  Truly an amazing trio of masterpieces. Was it composed during Verdi’s self-named “galley years”?

SL:  Three masterworks composed in the span of two years is an astounding feat.  He considered his “galley years” the period when he churned out 13 operas in nine years, including Nabucco, Macbeth, Stiffelio and Jerusalem (I Lombardi).  I think his “galley years” ended after Rigoletto, just before La traviata.  But we shouldn’t disparage the “galley years” operas; they were great works of art.

LC:  The music of La Traviata is a subject worthy of its own conversation. There are many intimate moments, are you’ve noted, but things get to a rousing start in the opening scene with a glittering party full of merriment and the famous drinking song, the brindisi.

SL:  Actually, the opera, and even the action, starts with the Prelude, before the stage opens to the first scene. The Prelude to La traviata is a portrait in sound, filled with sorrow as a beautiful but haunting melody from the cello signals the tragedy to follow. The Prelude is an important framing device to the whole opera. That’s in keeping with the way that Dumas fils framed his novel/play “La Dame aux Camelias”; it opens with the auctioning of Marguerite’s possessions after her death of tuberculosis.  The rest of Dumas fils’s story is told in flashbacks.  In a sense, everything in Verdi’s La traviata is a flashback from the weighty Prelude.  The way Verdi used this Prelude is strikingly different from Rossini’s opera overtures, which the audience frequently used as time to get to their seats. 

That cello melody from La traviata’s Prelude will return only once, in Act 2 when Violetta writes a farewell letter to Alfredo and pleads with him to still love her.  That concept of returning a melody that signifies a narrative or a person, but reviving it under different circumstances from its original appearance, shows the influence of Hector Berlioz rather than Richard Wagner.

Toward the end of Act 1, the music takes us to unexpected places.  Violetta and Alfredo have met at the party and express their attraction to each other in different ways.  Violetta, alone and examining her feelings in a recitative, can’t deny her attraction to Alfredo and ponders whether he is to be her true love. But the thought of love is unsettling because her life is devoted to freedom and pleasure.  Alfredo, on the other hand, expresses the mysterious and noble ways of love in his heartfelt aria, “Misterioso, altero”.  Alfredo repeats this haunting melody even from a distance; Violetta hears it and repeats it.  In this moving duet, Verdi seems to use an artifice to stop time so that we may focus on the lovers as they enter into a moment of personal discovery.  The world stops.  Ultimately, Violetta comes back to reality by insisting, in her famous and forthright aria, “Sempre libera,” that she must pass through life forever free and full of joy. The momentum of this scene drives through to the end of the Act, without a moment for the singers to pause the action for audience applause as was common during the 19th century operas of Rossini and Bellini, because Verdi understood that stopping the action would interrupt the drama. 

LC:  Violetta and Alfredo are the principal characters of La traviata, star-crossed lovers whose romance is thwarted by external forces and death.  But you can make a case that the character of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, is the most complex in the opera.  At the very least, he’s an important catalyst.

SL:  It’s easy to think of Giorgo as the villain; he’s the one who upsets the happy romance between Violetta and Alfredo.  Giorgio is bourgeoise, conscious of his and his family’s standing in society.  Yet he will surprise us.  His intimate and emotional duet with Violetta in Act 2 is the very heart of this opera.  At this point in the story, Violetta and Alfredo are settled in the peaceful countryside outside of Paris, blissfully happy.  Violetta has left her life as a courtesan and has even sold her possessions to support their life together.  Giorgio unexpectedly arrives like a pompous bully, accompanied by suitably stern music of staggered intervals.  Almost immediately, he accuses Violetta of ruining Alfredo and, in a heartbreaking duet with Violetta, demands that she leave Alfredo forever. Like the Dumas fils story, Giorgio’s motive is personal and social: he is afraid that Alfredo’s association with the former courtesan Violetta will reflect badly on their family and ruin Giorgio’s daughter’s chance to marry a respectable man. Violetta, now honorable through love, doesn’t cower to Giorgio; she stands her ground and refuses to leave Alfredo.  In this dramatic confrontation, accompanied by turbulence and power from the orchestra, Giorgio tries every persuasive argument to force Violetta to leave Alfredo: he tells her that age banishes charm, that men get bored, and that her union with Alfredo can never be blessed.  But like any natural conversation, Verdi also injects moments of tenderness into this duet. Violetta expresses her love for Alfredo with delicate flute and oboe accompaniment, and Giorgio sings warmly of his love for his daughter.  Finally, Giorgio appeals to Violetta by saying that she can help his family by honoring his request.  Giorgio wears her down; she sadly relents with the sorrowful aria, “Dite alla giovine, sì bella e pura” (Tell the young girl, so beautiful and pure, that I will surrender) and further, in her vulnerable state, sings “Qual figlia m’abbracciate, forte cosi sarò” (Embrace me as a daughter, and give me strength.) Giorgio is impressed with Violetta’s principled stance and dignity; he understands the depth of her love for Alfredo and the sacrifice she is making by releasing him.  With great emotion and anguish, he sings “Piangi, piangi, o misera, supremo, il veggo,è il sacrifizio che ora ti chieggo” (Weep, weep, poor girl. I see now that the sacrifice I asked could not be greater.) This compelling scene, full of fury and persuasion and tenderness, ends softly and sadly. Giorgio’s compassion, quite unexpected, is one of the most touching scenes in opera.  In fact, I’m moved to tears just thinking about this. 

Later, in one of the finest arias Verdi write for baritone, Giorgio consoles Alfredo, who is distraught at Violetta’s abandonment, by reminding his son of the beauty of their homeland: “Di Provenza il mar, il suol chi dal cor ti cancellò” (The sea, the hills of Provence).

Giorgio is also important to the final scene in the opera.  After Violetta and Alfredo have separated, Violetta is in her modest apartment, weak and dying of tuberculosis.  She receives a letter from Giorgio, telling her that he has informed Alfredo of her sacrifice and the real reason that she left him.  He is sending Alfredo to see her before she dies so that Alfredo may ask for her pardon for his cruelty to her after she left him. Giorgio says that he will come, too. “Take care of yourself,” Giorgio’s letter concludes. “You deserve a happier future.”  Giorgio’s sense of feeling for Violetta, his acknowledgement of how he broke up happy lovers, his seeking to comfort a suffering Violetta in her final moments, is striking from a man who had been presented as stern, practical and class-conscious.  Sadly, Violetta understands that it’s all too late – her death approaches.  Verdi’s tender music underscores both Violetta’s weakened state and her sorrow in lost love that cannot be recovered.  Both men arrive as she dies in Alfredo’s arms. 

I think Giorgio Germont is one of Verdi’s absolute favorite characters.  Just look at his contradictions.  First a bully, so assured of his stature and influence, then dissolving into sorrow by the pain Violetta and Alfredo suffer. Verdi’s psychological understanding was remarkable. He was undoubtedly very insistent that librettist Piave write this scene exactly how Verdi envisioned it. If I were a stage director, I would dress Giorgio to look just like Verdi: they were about the same age at this point.

We might say that in La traviata Verdi once again examines the tender relationship between a father and daughter. Granted, Giorgio is not Violetta’s biological father, but he evolves into a sympathetic fatherly role.

LC: Verdi doesn’t show us every moment in the narrative. Some action is implied.

SL: Yes. We don’t see the action that occurs between Acts 1 and 2,  but the audience understands what happened through the libretto, action and music.  No one, except maybe a critic having a bad day, would object to the lack of narrative between Acts 1 and 2.  Italians take certain things naturally in opera – not everything needs to be explained.  Opera isn’t about that, and we shouldn’t expect that. 

LC: Given how the story resonated with Verdi and by the poignant portrayal of the relationship between Violetta and Giorgio, I can imagine that Verdi loved La Traviata.

SL:  It held a special place in his heart.  Remarkably, he was working on Il trovatore at the same time, two very difference dramas and styles. Doing that requires great concentration and compartmentalizing, almost like isolating oneself in a cocoon.  It’s a testament to Verdi’s deep understanding of the interplay of music and drama.  When Verdi was older, critics would say, “Verdi has now achieved . . . .”   Verdi took great exception to that and responded, “What about my Rigoletto?”  In other words, don’t consider only his final works as masterpieces, but look instead at the totality of his impressive output – early, middle and late.

Hear Verdi’s La traviata on WETA Classical’s Opera Matinee, Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 1:00 pm (ET).