La Traviata Brindisi Opera (Verdi)

The prelude to the opera, Traviata, La (The Fallen Woman) begins with very soft, very high strings depicting the frail heroine, followed by the main love theme of the opera, which is then played on lower strings while the higher instruments decorate the melody. This delicate atmosphere is altered on curtain rise by lively dance tunes in the orchestra. After the famous “Brindisi“, an offstage band plays a series of waltzes (waltz rhythms pervade the first act of the opera, creating a Parisian atmosphere). The concluding part of Violetta’s solo scene that ends the first act is full of vocal decoration and feverish ornamentation as she swears to stay free (“Sempre libera“). These coloratura effects are not required for the character after the first act. The lengthy and crucial duet between the elder Germont and Violetta in act 2 is multi-sectioned with the music following the changing dramatic situation. La traviata is the only one of Verdi’s many operas to be set entirel