Inside this Guide….
Edmonton Opera
Education Guides
2008/2009
Section 1: What is Opera
Opera Etiquette …………………………………………………………………...
What is Opera …………………………………………………………………….Presented
History …………………………………………………………………………….
Voices ……………………………………………………………………………...
Anatomy of Sound ……………………………………………………………….
Opera is Everywhere! ……………………………………………………………
Section 2: The Pearl Fishers
Synopsis …………………………………………………………………………..
Ceylon ……………………………………………….
Critics………………………………………………………....
The best part…………………………………………………..
Biography ………………………………………………………………………...
Discussion Questions ……………………………………………………………
This guide was prepared by
Brianna Wells
Inside this Guide….
Section 1: What is Opera
Opera Etiquette …………………………………………………………………...2
What is Opera ……………………………………………………………………. 3
History ……………………………………………………………………………. 4
Activity: Who’s Who in Opera ………………………………………………….5
The Operatic Voice..……………………………………………………………… 6
Anatomy of Sound ………………………………………………………………. 8
Activity: Opera is Everywhere! …………………………………………………10
Activity: Opera is Storytelling ………………………………………………….11
Section 2: La Traviata
The Cast …………………………………………………………………………...14
Synopsis ………………………………………………………………………….. 15
The Story Behind the Story………………………………………………. ……. 17
Biography………………………………………………………………………… 18
Verdi’s Role in the Development of Opera…………………………………… 20
Activity: Historical Context …………………………………………………….21
Activity: Questioning Censorship……………………………………………. 22
Discussion Questions……………………………………………………………. 23
Education Guide
La Traviata by Giuseppi Verdi
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By
Opera Etiquette
ALWAYS BE EARLY! Once a performance begins, no one will be allowed
into the theatre until intermission because it will disrupt other patrons. We
suggest you arrive half an hour early to pick up your tickets, and prepare to
enter the auditorium fifteen minutes prior to showtime.
USE THE RESTROOM. Once in the theatre it is courteous to remain seated
and involved in the production until intermission. Please do not leave the
theatre unless there is an emergency.
PLEASE BE COURTEOUS to everyone in the audience and on stage. Theatre
is live performance, so any talking, cell-phone use (including texting) or other
noise/light disruption takes away from everyone’s experience at the opera.
APPLAUSE WELCOME! Opera is spectacle. Your presence in the audience
is essential to complete the whole experience. Enjoy the performance and
respond to what you see. Unlike television or film, every live performance is
unique: only you and the performers will share the experience you have in the
theatre. Your warmth and good humour are important to them, so when you
like something, tell them with your applause.
NO FOOD, DRINKS, OR GUM IN THE THEATRE. This rule is strictly
enforced.
NO CAMERAS OR TAPE RECORDERS: the artists’ images and
performances belong to them and we ask you to respect that by refraining
from recording their work in any way.
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What is Opera?
The word opera is the plural form of the Latin word opus (which translates quite
literally as work). Today we use the word opera to refer to a theatrically based musical art form
in which the drama is sung (without microphones!), rather than spoken, and is accompanied by
a full symphony orchestra.
Opera was born out of the belief that drama can be better expressed by music and text than by
text alone. One of the unique things about opera is how it combines so many different art forms
(music, drama, and visual arts) to create an artistic spectacle. Of course, the use of many art
forms means that there are many people involved in the creation and production of an opera.
These may include:
Composer: Writes the music
Librettist: Chooses a story, writes or adapts the words
Conductor: Leads the musicians
Director: Blocks or stages the entire production
Principal Singers: Have the leading and supporting roles
Chorus: Sing as a group
Supernumeraries: Act but do not sing
Repetiteur: Accompanies singers during rehearsal, plays the whole orchestral score on
piano
Costume Designer: Designs the costumes for each character
Wardrobe/Costume Staff: fit, clean and repair costumes; help singers put costumes on
Wig Staff: Make wigs and prepare make-up
Make-up Staff: Apply make-up for principal singers, assist chorus with make-up
Set Designer: Designs the scenery for each scene
Lighting Designer: Designs lighting effects
Prop Builders: Build/buy all the set pieces that are not structural
Stage Manager: “Calls the show” -- cues scenery changes, lighting and actors so that
everything happens at the right time.
Stagehands: Move scenery; run lighting & sound cues
Front of House Staff: Work in the performance venue: seating patrons, operating coat
check
Artistic Director: Chooses which shows to produce and which artists to hire
Administrative Staff: Find funding (!); sell tickets; hire artists; take care of the business
side of opera.
Audience: Enjoys and appreciates opera from a seat in the hall!
Critic: Writes a critique of performance for newspaper, radio, or TV
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A Short History of Opera
Opera as an art form began with the inclusion of incidental music performed during the tragedies and
comedies popular during ancient Greek times. The tradition of including music as an integral part of
theatrical activities expanded in Roman times and continued throughout the Middle Ages. Traditional
view holds that the first completely sung musical drama (or opera) developed in Florence in the 1570s by
an informal group of composers, musicians and artists known as the Florentine Camerata, which led to
the musical setting of Rinuccini’s drama, Dafne, by composer Jacopo Peri in 1597.
In the 17th century, Italian masters Giulio Caccini and Claudio Monteverdi developed a kind of musical
entertainment where a story – including the events, conversations, and characterizations – is told through
singing and orchestral accompaniment. Two key components of these entertainments became hallmarks
of opera: recitative sections and arias. Recitatives are song-speech, and the words are sung but with little
or no recognizable melody, and with a rhythm that imitates those of speech. Recitatives function to
further the storyline of the drama. Arias (Italian for “air”) are main songs that reveal both the emotion of
the characters, and the qualities of the soloists’ voices. Additionally, there were groups of singers called
the chorus, who played background characters of the story. Their songs were usually a comment on the
action, much like the chorus from ancient Greek drama.
Opera gained popularity throughout Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries and Italian composers
dominated the field (this is why operatic terms are often Italian words). German opera followed the lead
of Italian opera through much of the 18th century, with composers actually producing operas to be sung
in Italian. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an Austrian composer, wrote some of the first German-language
operas in the mid 18th century, and also brought the technique of singspiel (“sing play” where spoken
dialogue is used instead of recitative) to greater attention. Giaochino Rossini was the most popular
composer at the turn of the 19th century, and his best-known works were comic operas (known as opera
buffa). Giuseppe Verdi, the most prolific and influential operatic composer in the 19th century, emerged
from the Italian bel canto and opera buffa styles to a new kind of opera, which focused on great emotion
and dramatic portrayal of character, and began the path to realism in operatic stories.
Also in the 19th century, German composer Richard Wagner introduced the idea of through-composed
operas, in which the distinctions between aria and recitative were to be blurred entirely. He also used
leitmotif (wherein musical motives and phrases represent characters, ideas, or themes, and are reintroduced throughout the work as a way of musically telling the story). At the turn of the 19th century,
Giacomo Puccini followed his hero Verdi into the world of verismo opera, and told stories of common
people with a depth of emotion and transcendence of musical lines that has not been surpassed. In
France, George Bizet’s operas likewise focused on realistic characters and plots. Also at the turn of the
20th century, Austrian, British, and Spanish composers were extremely popular for their light operas (and
operettas).
Today opera continues to grow, both in new staging and productions, and in the creation of new works.
American composers such as John Adams and Philip Glass are credited with breathing new innovation
into the art form, and Aaron Copeland took American history for the sources of his operatic works. John
Estacio, an Edmonton composer and John Murrell (an Albertan playwright) recently created an opera
called Filumena, which tells the story of the last woman executed in Alberta, and it was performed by
Edmonton Opera in 2005. Opera may be 500 years old, but it continues to captivate audiences and tell
important stories today!
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Student Handout
Activity: “Who’s Who” in the World of Opera
In the boxes below, use the clues to determine which composers fit into each century.
Use “A Short History of Opera” to help.
1600-1750
•
•
First “operas”
Development of
recitative and aria
Composers
1750 - 1830
•
•
Introduction of
singspiel
Popular opera buffa
Composers
Composers
1. Georges
Bizet
2. Giulio
Caccini
3. Claudio
Monteverdi
4. W.A.
Mozart
1830 – 1890
•
•
•
Dramatic, emotional
style
Through-composed
opera
Leitmotif
Composers
1890 - 1920
•
•
6. Giaochini
Rossini
7. Giuseppi
Verdi
Composers
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Verismo opera
Soaring melodies
5. Giacomo
Puccini
8. Richard
Wagner
The Operatic Voice
Being an opera singer is hard work! Singers need to be physically strong and have
superb technique in order to sustain long phrases (musical thoughts): this means they
have excellent control of both the inhalation and exhalation of their breath. Likewise,
their voices must maintain a resonance (using the cavities in the face to increase the
audibility of the voice, even when singing quietly) in both the head (mouth, sinuses)
and chest cavities. All this resonance is necessary to achieve the volume required to be
heard above the orchestra that accompanies the singers. Opera singers do not usually
use microphones, so they must project their voices throughout a whole theatre using
only their muscles and technique! All voices are defined by both the actual voice “type”
and the selection of repertoire for which the voice is ideally suited. The range, pitch,
and tone of a singer’s voice will determine what kind of role they will play in the opera.
Below are a list of the voice types (and ranges) commonly found in operas:
Female Voice Types
• Soprano (“sopra” = “over”)
The highest pitched female voice. Soprano voices vary by
sound type: there are coloratura sopranos, who
can sing very high notes and rapid passages with ease,
dramatic sopranos, whose voices have great power, and
lyric sopranos, whose voices have exceptional beauty and can sustain long passages.
Composers often (but not always) write the female lead role in an opera for a soprano.
• Mezzo-Soprano (“mezzo” = “medium”)
Lower than the soprano and higher than contralto. Usually
plays either the character of a young boy (this is called a
trouser role) or a complex character with energy
and awareness of life, or an evil character. Bizet’s Carmen is one of the most famous
mezzo roles in opera, and is a rare lead role for a mezzo.
• Contralto (“contra” = “against” & “alto” = “high”)
The lowest pitched female voice, these singers have a deep,
well rounded sound. Contraltos more rare than sopranos
or mezzos, and they are usually given the role of a maid,
mother, or grandmother. Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene
Onegin is one such role.
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Male Voice Types
• Tenor (“tenere”= “to hold” - central notes of harmony)
The highest sounding male voice: often the leading role.
Tenors, like sopranos, can have lyric or dramatic sound
quality. Luciano Pavarotti was one of the world’s most
famous lyric tenors. Tenors typically play characters that
fall in love with Sopranos, such as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata.
• Baritone (from the Greek term for “deep sounding”)
Theses voices are more mellow-sounding and slightly
lower than tenors. The roles sung by baritones are usually
father figures or counts and other nobles, and these are
often important roles in the story (like Rigoletto in Verdi’s
Rigoletto).
• Bass (“low”)
Basses are the lowest sounding human voices, and they
often play roles of wise and older characters in opera, like
kings, emperors, or gods. They can also play profoundly
evil characters, like Satan in Mephistopheles or Faust. The
basso profundo is the lowest voice in singing, and is commonly heard in Russian opera.
One of the most recognizable bass roles in opera is Leporello in W.A. Mozart’s
Don Giovanni.
Pol Plancon in the bass role of Ramfis in Verdi's Aida,
cartoon by tenor Enrico Caruso
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A Sound Anatomy of Opera
There are many different kinds of songs in opera. Performers may sing alone, in couples
(duets), trios, or larger groups, and there are also moments when no one sings at all – and each
composer develops his or her own preferred combinations of these options. The following are
the major musical components of an opera:
The Overture
An opera usually begins with an orchestral piece of music called the overture, which functions
as an introduction to the opera. The overture generally includes themes that will be heard
throughout the opera, and can be anywhere from five to twenty-five minutes long. Before 1800,
house lights were not dimmed while the overture played, and audiences would continue to
talk, drink, and even play cards. This changed in the nineteenth century when the overture
began to take its place as an integral part of the operatic performance. Usually, at the end of the
overture, the curtain rises and the story of the opera unfolds through a series of scenes, which
are usually organized into acts.
Arias
Italian for “air” or song. Arias are solos performed to the accompaniment of the orchestra. They
allow the character to express his or her feelings and reflect on the events of the drama. The
focus of an aria is emotions rather than actions, and provides an opportunity for the singer to
demonstrate his or her vocal or artistic skill. Some of the most successful composers of arias,
such as Mozart, Verdi and Puccini were able to achieve a remarkable balance between
memorable melodies that perfectly suit the human voice, and making the music reflect the
drama of the text.
Recitatives
Recitative is a type of singing unique to opera, and is used when characters are conversing, or
introducing an aria. The text is delivered quickly in a musical way that imitates speech, and has
a very limited melodic range. It has no recognizable melody and its rhythms follow those of the
spoken word. Recitative is meant to carry the action forward and can be accompanied either by
a full orchestra, or, as is often the case in opera written before 1800, by a harpsichord or
keyboard instrument.
Ensemble (“together”)
In operas, ensemble singing is when two or more voices of different ranges perform together.
These include duets, trios, quartets, quintets, and in one or two instances, even a sextet! In each
of these, the way the composer blends the voices will depend on the dramatic requirements of
the plot. For instance, in a duet where the characters singing are in love, a composer may show
this musically by having each performer sing different music at different times, and gradually
bring both lines of music together in harmony as the duet culminates. Conversely, if the
characters are in conflict, their music might never be brought together. Georges Bizet used this
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technique in Carmen: if you listen to the duets sung by Carmen and Don José, you might notice
that their musical lines are never completely blended, and this foreshadows their tragic ends.
Chorus
Most operas include music sung by a large group of singers (sometimes as many as 40 or more)
called a chorus. The chorus appears on stage most often in crowd scenes. The chorus can
provide a stunning contrast to solo or ensemble singing. In one opera by Benjamin Britten, the
chorus is played by a single male and a single female (this is in the tradition of ancient Greek
theatre).
Orchestral Music
The orchestra is an important part of any opera, and not only because it accompanies the
singing and introduces the opera in the overture. The themes (both musical and emotional) of
the opera can appear in orchestral introductions and conclusions to arias, recitatives, and
choruses, but sometimes the orchestra becomes a character in the story, and has music to play
by itself outside of the overture or introduction. One of the most famous of these instances is
the intermezzo (“in the middle”) from Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni (this can be found on
youtube.com). In between the scenes of this one-act opera, the orchestra takes up the story
through incredibly expressive and lyrical (singing-like) melodies, and through the voices of
instruments rather than singers, brings to life the emotion of the characters, the foreboding
conclusion, and also a sense of hope.
The final (and finale) chorus of Falstaff from our 2007/2008 season
Photo credit: Ellis Brothers Photography
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Activity: Teacher Resource
Opera is Everywhere!
Background:
We don’t called it the greatest and grandest of art forms for nothing… the stories, characters
and music from opera can be found in every corner of Western culture, from books and plays to
hip-hop and cartoons.
For students new to opera, a great starting point may be discovering all the places where they
may have heard music from opera without even realizing it.
Activity:
Choose a famous piece of operatic music (a list is provided below for help), and go exploring
with your students, to see where the themes, characters, and music appear in our culture today.
Good places to start looking are musicals (Rent, for example, is based directly on La Boheme),
cartoons (Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse were big opera fans), and movie scores, but the sky is
the limit – you’ll be surprised where you find opera these days! Websites like Wikipedia, the
Internet Movie Database, and “Opera goes to the Movies” are a great help, and can help to
begin discussions about how music is performed in and outside of its original context.
Some Questions to ask: What changes when opera is introduced in new places (like ads or
movies)? What stays the same? Even the important question of genre: is it still opera if it’s used
in a car commercial? And if not, what does it become?
Below are some very famous operatic pieces that can easily be found in popular culture
(and on youtube) today:
“Largo al Factotum” from The Barber of Seville by Rossini
“Habanera” from Carmen by Bizet
The Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni
“O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicci by Puccini
“The Flower Duet” from Lakmé by Delibes
“Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly by Puccini
“Non più andrai” from The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart
“La Donna é mobile” from Rigoletto by Verdi
“Nessun Dorma” from Turandot by Verdi
“The Anvil Chorus” from Il Trovatore by Verdi
“Overture – part 2” from William Tell by Rossini
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Activity: Teacher Resource
Teacher Resource
Opera is Storytelling!
Background:
One of the most important things about going to see an opera, or any live theatrical
performance, is that each performance is different, even within the run of the same
show: nothing is every exactly the same twice. The conductor might set a faster or
slower tempo, the actors might take more time in moments that worked well or not well
enough the night before, a bat might fly into the auditorium (this actually happened in
1966 during an Edmonton Opera performance of La Bohème):
part of the magic of theatre is that only the performers on
stage and the people there that night will ever be a part of that
experience.
Even though the music may have been written a long time
ago, and the stories can often be much, much older again, each
time an opera is performed it’s a new telling, and a new
experience. Think back to when you had bed-time stories.
Did one person tell it differently than the other? Did a
babysitter use special voices for different characters, or maybe
read too slowly, not pausing in the right places?
Activity: Selective Storytelling
Jeff Haslam and Renée Brad in H.M.S. Pinafore. Mr. Haslam
got so many laughs in “When I was a Lad” that he got more
and more silly with it each night – on closing night it was much
longer than it was at the dress rehearsal!
Photo Credit: Ellis Brothers Photography
To illustrate the uniqueness of each operatic telling, create a simple plotline as a class –
it can be a fairytale or mystery, or a person or event from a particular time in history –
perhaps something that fits into other units coming up or just past.
Then separate into partners or groups, and have students flesh out the plot line either
through a straight retelling, through acting out the story, or creating a design or
diorama to express the feelings of a particular scene. Compare choices made by
different groups – who focused on characterization, on a particular tension, or on the
imagery and how does this change the feeling of the story?
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Student Handout: Selective Storytelling
Story ________________________________________
Group
Focus
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Result
Section 2: La Traviata
Music by Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
Sung in Italian with English Supertitles
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La Traviata
Music by Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, after the play La Dame aux Camelias
by Alexandre Dumas, fils
Premiered March 6, 1853 in Venice
Conductor
Director
Steven Osgood
Michael Cavanagh
The Cast
Violetta Valéry
Alfredo Germont
Giorgio Germont
Baron Douphal
Annina
Gastone
Marquis D’Obigny
Doctor Grenvil
Flora
Laura Whalen
Marc Hervieux
Theodore Baerg
Doug MacNaughton
Renée Brad
Tom Macleay
Alexander Dobson
Brian McIntosh
Krista de Silva
The Edmonton Opera Chorus as Ladies and Gentlemen in the houses of Violetta and
Flora, servants and masks, dancers and guests as matadors, picadors, and gypsies.
and
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
Set Designer
Lighting Designer
Costume Designer
Peter Dean Beck
Steve Ross
Malabar Costumes
Education Dress Rehearsal
April 23, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Performances
April 25, 28, 30, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Sung in Italian with English Supertitles
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La Traviata Synopsis
Setting: Late 18th Century: Paris and Vicinity
Act 1: Violetta’s salon
Violetta Valéry, a famous courtesan, is hosting a lavish party in her Paris salon. Gastone, a
count, attends and brings with him Alfredo (who has been in love with Violetta from a distance
for a long time). Gastone tells Violetta that Alfredo loves her so much that he came to her house
every day while she was ill, and Alfredo joins the conversation, admitting that the remark is
true. Violetta then addresses one of her admirers, the Baron Douphal, and accuses him of not
caring so much for her as does the young Alfredo. The guests encourage Alfredo to give a toast,
and the company sings “Libiamo” (“The Drink Song”).
It is time for the dance and the guests leave the salon for the next room, but Violetta stays
behind because she feels dizzy. The Baron leaves her alone in the room and there, with her
guests dancing in the next room, Violetta looks at her face in the mirror, and sees how pale she
is. She knows she is ill but has not yet discovered that her illness is tuberculosis, (a fatal
condition in the 19th century). Alfredo enters to express his concern for Violetta’s health: he
suspects already that she is more seriously ill than she lets on. He then blames her illness on the
fatiguing and immoral life she leads. He promises that, they were to fall in love, he would take
care of her and bring her back to health.
Violetta has been moved by Alfredo’s addresses, but she responds flippantly that she is
indifferent to love, but as he turns to go she repents and gives him a white camellia and tells
him to return it when it has wilted. Alfredo, impatient at these games, asks when that will be,
and Violetta responds, “Tomorrow.” Ecstatic, Alfredo kisses her hand and leaves. After the
guests have gone, Violetta wonders about her life, and the offer made by Alfredo. She is
conflicted about the freedom of the life she leads in Paris, and the deep feelings Alfredo has
awoken in her heart. She vows to reject his suit but is haunted by the echo of Alfredo’s song.
Act 2 – Three months later
Alfredo and Violetta are now living in her country villa, far removed from the social world of
Paris. Violetta has obeyed her heart and left Paris to live quietly with the man she loves. But
Alfredo is shocked to discover that Violetta has actually sold all of her belongings to support
their new life together and he immediately leaves for Paris to settle the financial matters.
Violetta receives an invitation to a party in Paris from her friend, Flora, but before she can
consider it, Alfredo’s father (Germont) arrives at the house.
Germont implores Violetta to give up her scandalous liason with his son, a union that he says is
ruining the family’s reputation. Germont assumes that Violetta is spending all of Alfredo’s
money and leading him to ruin, but she defends herself, stressing that it is she who has
supported them, not Alfredo. But Germont does not stop there: he pleads with Violetta to
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abandon Alfredo because otherwise his daughter will never be able to marry well, and the
family will be ruined. Despite a passionate defense of her love for Alfredo, Violetta eventually
capitulates and agrees to sacrifice her happiness for the honour of Alfredo’s family, asking
Germont only that he explain to Alfredo’s sister how a sick and unfortunate woman has
sacrificed her dream of happiness to help secure the marriage.
Violetta writes a farewell note for Alfredo, falsely explaining that she missed her old life and
has returned to Paris, but Alfredo interrupts her and Violetta embraces him passionately,
declaring her love for him for the last time. She leaves, and Alfredo is left with her note. He is
devasted, but before he can follow her he is confronted by Germont, who attempts to persuade
Alfredo that all is for the best. Enraged, Alfredo leaves for Paris to confront Violetta.
Act 3: Flora’s Villa
Alfredo enters the masked ball and begins to gamble at the tables. Violetta enters with
Douphol, who joins the game and loses again and again to Alfredo. Douphol becomes angry
and suggests a duel, but the confrontation must be left for another time as the dinner is served
in an adjoining room. Violetta attempts to warn Alfredo that Douphol will challenge him again,
but Alfredo refuses to listen to her and will only leave if she goes with him. Violetta, fearful for
her lover’s life, tells Alfredo that she now loves Douphol and Alfredo erupts in jealousy, and
throws money at her, to pay her for all the months she supported him, and to insultingly make
payment for the favours she has given him. Germont has arrived and is ashamed of his son’s
behaviour, and though he too is overcome by shame, the lovers will not be reconciled because
Violetta will not break her promise to Germont and reveal why she returned to Paris. Violetta
faints and Douphol breaks in, challenging Alfredo to a duel.
Act 4: Violetta’s bedroom
Violetta’s illness has progressed beyond hope of recovery. Dr. Grenvil confesses to Violetta’s
maid that the end is near for the once-beautiful courtesan. Violetta receives a letter from
Germont thanking her for her promise, and revealing that the duel has taken place but that no
one was seriously harmed. The letter also explains that Germont has explained to his son
Violetta’s sacrifice, and that Alfredo begs to see his love and apologize.
Alfredo arrives and the lovers exchange vows ecstatically, but as they reminisce about their past
Violetta’s strength fails her and she begs God to let her live now that she is once again with the
man she loves. Germont arrives and admits he has been the cause of Violetta’s sorrow; he
promises to take her as his daughter and bless the union. Violetta feels a surge of life and she
tries to hold to Alfredo, but it is too late: she dies in his arms.
Please note that the production you will see may vary slightly from this synopsis.
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The Story Behind the Story
The story for La Traviata comes from the novel and play by Alexandre Dumas entitled
La Dame aux Camellias or The Lady of the Camellias. The title character was based on reallife courtesan Marie Duplessis, who was also the hostess of a salon in Paris (a place
where politicians, artists, musicians, and writers gathered for
stimulating conversation and society). Duplessis was renowned
for her intelligence and wit.
Unfortunately, Duplessis died at the age of 23 of tuberculosis,
and in the following year Dumas
published his romantic novel
about her, changing her name to
Marguerite Gautier (this would
become Violetta Valèry for
Verdi’s opera).
Marie Duplessis at the theatre.
Painting by Camille Roqueplan
Dumas’ story, called Camille in English, has inspired a
number of plays and movies in both Europe and North
America, including Broadway revivals and films like
Moulin Rouge! and the much-less-tragic Pretty Woman.
Both of these films, following Dumas’ original work,
challenge the ideas of morality and social propriety by
presenting a woman who holds a dubious place in
society but ends up saving those who attempt to save
her.
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Alexandre Dumas, fils
Biography: Giuseppe Verdi
1813-1901
Born in 1813 in the Italian village of Le Roncole near Busseto, Giuseppe Verdi spent his early
years studying the organ. By the age of seven, he had become an organist at San Michele
Arcangelo. In 1823, Verdi moved to Busseto and attended the music school run by Antonio
Provesi. By the age of 13, he was an assistant conductor of the Busseto orchestra. After finishing
at the school, Verdi applied for admission to the Milan Conservatory. He was rejected for
admission, although one of the examiners suggested that he "forget about the Conservatory and
choose a maestro in the city." Verdi studied composition in Milan with Vincenzo Lavigna, a
composer and the maestro at La Scala. Verdi bounced back and forth between Milan and
Busseto until he was named maestro of the Busseto Philharmonic in March 1836. By May 1836,
he had married childhood sweetheart, Margherita Barezzi, his greatest benefactor's daughter.
He returned to Milan several years later, this time with a young family.
Verdi's first opera, Oberto, was brought to the stage at La Scala in November 1839 and ran for
multiple performances and, based upon his initial operatic effort, Verdi won a contract for three
additional operas. He began work on his next opera, Un Giorno di Regno, but was interrupted
when, one by one, his family fell ill. Over the course of a few weeks, Verdi lost his son, his
daughter, and his beloved wife to illness. Unfortunately, Un Giorno was a complete failure.
Verdi vowed never to compose another comedy and became very fatalistic, but the director of
La Scala continued to support Verdi, and Verdi’s next works cemented his fame. At dress
rehearsals for Nabucco, carpenters making repairs to the theatre gradually stopped hammering
and, seating themselves on scaffolding and ladders, listened with rapt attention to what the
composer considered a lackluster chorus rendering of "Va, pensiero." At the close of the number,
the workers pounded the woodwork with cries of "Bravo, bravo, viva il maestro!" The opening of
Nabucco was a triumph and “Va, pensiero” became the theme song of Italian nationalism. Verdi
was famous.
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In the years that followed, the composer penned eleven additional
operas of varied success, gradually making the transition between
the bel canto style and his own operatic genre, in which melodic
drama and identifiable musical essence of character took center
stage as an equal to vocal purity and elegance. A brilliantly
schooled musician, Verdi placed emotional sensibility above
intellect in all that he wrote. In the process, he created the
remarkable marriage of dramatic characterization and vocal power,
an indelible artistic signature.
The creation of an operatic tour de force based upon his ingenious
artistic formulation assured Verdi's immortality, beginning in 1851 with Rigoletto, followed soon
after by Il Trovatore, La Traviata, and ultimately in 1871, Aida. Even without mention of many
other works, Verdi stood unchallenged as the premier operatic composer of any age. After the
success of Aida, however, Verdi seemed to have abandoned composing altogether, producing
no new works for fifteen years.
Fortunately for posterity, an electrifying libretto, Otello, created by poet
Arrigo Boito, brought the composer out of his self-imposed retirement.
The opening of Otello in February of 1887 attracted an international
audience to Milan and they showered Verdi with gifts and applause
throughout twenty curtain calls and followed his carriage to the hotel.
Public festivities continued until dawn. In 1893, with the premiere of
Falstaff, Verdi and his adoring audience repeated the entire sequence of
events at La Scala - all in honor of a comedy he had vowed as a young
man never to write. The maestro finally retreated to his country home
in Sant' Agata with his second wife, singer Giuseppina Strepponi.
Giuseppa Strepponi,
Verdi’s second wife.
They spent several peaceful years in retirement until her death in
1897. His wife's death left Verdi in a state of unbearable grief. He
immediately fled Sant' Agata for the Grand Hotel in Milan and, after
four unhappy years, Verdi died in 1901, the victim of a massive stroke. Verdi's death left all
Italy in mourning. He still is revered throughout the music world as the greatest of operatic
composers.
Image from www.wikipedia.org
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Verdi’s Role in the Development of Opera
Giuseppi Verdi has been called “the father of opera” by many opera experts, and his
influence on the art form is certainly undeniable:
• It is easy to see Verdi’s prominence in the world of opera by considering how many of
his 37 operas are considered mandatory repertoire on major operatic stages around the
world: Nabucco, Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Otello, Macbeth.
• His work demonstrates a shift from the comedies of Rossini and Donizetti to grand,
spectacular and immensely emotional opera – and a sense of emotional intimacy, which
helped pave the way for the verismo operas (like Puccini’s La Bohème) that followed at
the turn of the 20th century.
• Verdi and Richard Wagner are called the “twin colossi of nineteenth-century opera”
(Opera 101 page 35), and though the pair wrote very different work, they both believed
fundamentally that opera was a ‘music-drama’ which encompassed all artistic elements
into a single homogenous spectacle – and these included through-composed music
(where the singing is continuous and there is no speech) that had no full-stops for arias.
Although arias survived the Verdi/Wagner era, these composers’ philosophies have, in
essence, become the working definition of opera.
• Verdi’s development of his characters and their struggles and triumphs resulted in
some of the most stirring and beautiful music known in Europe at the time – he
embraced grand themes without sacrificing a personal quality for the characters
representing them.
• Verdi is credited with some of the best Shakespeare adaptations in the operatic canon:
Otello, Macbeth, and Falstaff.
• Verdi’s last opera – Falstaff – was written when he was 79, and some some say it is his
best work – although its humorous subject matter has perhaps kept it from the acclaim
granted to some of his more serious works.
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Activity: Teacher Resource
Background: Historical Perspective
Verdi lived a remarkably long time for a person in the 19th century – particularly long
when his life span is compared to other composers, like Donizetti, Bizet, or Mozart.
Massive changes occurred in Europe and throughout the world in the 1800’s with war,
colonialism, mercantilism, and the Industrial Revolution altering the lives of people all
over the world. What was happening in 1853, the year that La Traviata first took the
stage?
World Events
Canadian Events
•
On March 30, artist Vincent Van Gogh
was born.
•
The first railway was built, spanning
from Montreal to Maine.
•
In the U.S.A., The Levi-Strauss
company was founded and began
making jeans.
•
•
Maryann Shad became the first female
newspaper editor: her paper was based
out of Ontario and was called The
Provincial Freeman.
Verdi premiered Il Trovatore (purveyor
of the famous “anvil chorus”).
•
A Cree Dictionary was compiled at
Fort Edmonton to assist with trade.
•
Thomas Bellamy was born in Ontario.
He would later become one of the first
Aldermen on Edmonton’s City
Council, and today Bellamy Hill is
named after him.
•
In the Colony of South Africa, all
property-owning men were officially
given the right to vote: this would be
rescinded under apartheid in 1948 and
black men would be stripped of voting
rights until 1994, when apartheid was
abolished.
Activity: Historical Comparison Questions
#1 Compare and contrast the life and works of Verdi and a contemporary musician,
politician, or historical figure, either in Canada or elsewhere in the world. How can
their influence be seen in the 20th century? Today?
#2 What was happening in Edmonton during Verdi’s lifetime (1813-1901)?
#3 What do you think is the most important thing that happened during Verdi’s
lifetime? Why?
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Activity: Teacher Resource
Background: Censorship
When Traviata premiered, it was a disaster. The singer playing Violetta was much too
large to be believed to be dying of consumption, and the rest of the cast played their
parts poorly. The real challenge, however, was the audiences, who were scandalized by
an opera about a courtesan. La Traviata was not the first of Verdi’s works to push the
limits of “morality” on stage. His Rigoletto was only produced after the story was
relocated from France to Mantua as per offended Austrian censors, and La Traviata was
only accepted after the setting was changed from contemporaneous to the early 1700’s.
Thankfully, the beauty of the music and the power of these stories eventually helped
most of Verdi’s audiences (and critics) see past the “immoral” subjects to the real depth
and majesty of the works.
Artists of all kinds all over the world have dealt with censorship, and it is a difficult
question to address: books like Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, and
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret, have been banned or challenged in Canada at
different times in history, and usually with the best intentions on the part of those
attempting to repress them.
Activity: Examining Censorship
1. Pick a book, play, or movie that has been banned recently. Where was it banned,
and why?
2. Can you think of a book, play, movie, or piece of art that that offended you?
What was offensive about it? Would you fight to have it removed from public
view?
3. Have you read a book or seen a movie or play that has been banned somewhere
or some time? Can you identify what aspects led to the censorship?
4. Do you think that governments or organizing bodies have a responsibility to
monitor and censor things that are deemed inappropriate? Immoral? Hate
Speech?
5. Is there a time or place in which it is appropriate to control what is being said or
expressed within (or about) a community?
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Activity: Pre-Performance Discussion Questions
#1 Opera perceptions: What do students think of when they think of “opera”? What
expectations do they have of the performance?
#2 How is opera different from other theatrical and musical performances? What is the
difference between a “musical”, an operetta, and an opera? Are there exceptions to the
definitions?
#3 How is La Traviata different from other operas that students have seen or studied?
#4 What is a camellia? How is it important in Dumas’ play and does it play the same
role in Verdi’s opera?
Activity: Post-Performance Discussion Questions and Activities
#1 What did you think of the sets? The lighting? The costumes?
#2 Write to one of the characters, offering advice or asking them questions about their
decisions and actions.
#3 Which was the most important scene in the opera for you and why?
#4 Violetta sacrifices her love for the honour of Alfredo’s family. Did she make the
right choice? Why or why not?
#5 Giorgio Germont is a pretty overbearing father. Did he have the right to get
involved in Alfredo’s life the way he did? How could he have done it differently?
Write a new scene where Germont acts as you think he should have.
#6 Consumption (tuberculosis) was a very popular way to remove female characters in
operas, plays and stories in the 19th century, in part because it was an incurable disease
that took a long time to kill its victim. If the story were set today, what might Violetta
die of instead?
#7 What if Violetta didn’t die at the end? How would the opera feel different? Would it
still “work”? Why or why not?
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Sources
Websites
www.arizonaopera.com
Online Encyclopedia Britannica
www.metropolitanopera.com
www.virginiaopera.com
www.wikipedia.org
Books
Dumas, Alexandre fils. Camille. New York: Modern Library.
Forman, Denis Sir. A Night at the Opera. New York: Modern Library, 1998.
Grout, Donald Jay. A Short History of Opera. New York: Columbia UP, 1988.
Hutcheon, Linda and Michaerl Hutcheon. Opera: Desire, Disease, Death. Lincoln:
Nebraska UP, 1996.
Plotkin, Fred. Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera. New York:
Hyperion, 1994.
Sadie, Stanley. The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera. New York: Billboard Books,
2004.
Wechsberg, Joseph. Verdi. New York: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1974.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Edmonton Opera for more
resources or for help with specific questions or topics.
We will do our best to help!
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Please send
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