Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 9 La Traviata

L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O 36 | February 16 - March 22, 2019 La traviata: After the Curtain Falls Your opera experience doesn’t have to end here! When the performance is over, you can continue your exploration of La traviata in conversation with your companions. Here are some topics to consider : • What was your favorite scene in the opera musically? And what moment of the drama did you find the most compelling? • What appealed to you the most in the set and costume designs of this production? • What choices did a young woman like Violetta have in life? Do you see connections between her situation in mid-19th-century Paris and what many young women are up against today? • Vocally speaking, by far the most florid vocal lines happen in Violetta’s outburst that ends Act One, “Sempre libera,” in which she dismisses the idea of love and proclaims that she’ll live only for pleasure. Why do you think Verdi chose to give Violetta such an incredibly flamboyant aria to sing at this point in the opera? • Do you understand the thinking of Alfredo’s father in his scene with Violetta? What would you have done if you were in his position? • What dramatic function do you think is served by the ballet performed at Flora’s party? • Why do you think Verdi chose to have Violetta speak the words of Germont’s letter instead of singing them? To continue enjoying La traviata, Lyric dramaturg and program editor Roger Pines suggests the following performances: CD Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes; Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Bavarian State Orchestra, cond. Carlos Kleiber. (Deutsche Grammophon) Maria Callas, Alfredo Kraus, Mario Zanasi; Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, cond. Franco Ghione (Warner Classics) Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Ettore Bastianini; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, cond. Carlo Maria Giulini (EMI Classics) Renata Scotto, Gianni Raimondi, Ettore Bastianini; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, cond. Antonino Votto (Deutsche Grammophon) Anna Moffo, Renato Cioni, Mario Sereni; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, cond. Herbert von Karajan (IDIS) Rosanna Carteri, Cesare Valletti, Leonard Warren; Chorus and Orchestra of the Rome Opera, cond. Pierre Monteux (Sony Classical) DVD Renée Fleming, Rolando Villazon, Renato Bruson; Chorus and Orchestra of LA Opera, cond. James Conlon, dir. Marta Domingo (Decca) Renée Fleming, Joseph Calleja, omas Hampson; Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, cond. Antonio Pappano, dir. Sir Richard Eyre (Opus Arte) Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Cornell MacNeil; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, cond. James Levine, dir. Franco Zeffirelli (Deutsche Grammophon) Stefania Bonfadelli, Scott Piper, Renato Bruson; Chorus and Orchestra of the Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, cond. Plácido Domingo, dir. Franco Zeffirelli (TDK) Marie McLaughlin, Walter MacNeil, Brent Ellis; Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic, cond. Bernard Haitink, dir. Sir Peter Hall (Image Entertainment) Natalie Dessay, Charles Castronovo, Ludovic Tézier; Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Louis Langrée, dir. Jean-François Sivadier (Erato) Alfredo (Joseph Calleja) woos Violetta (Elizabeth Futral): La traviata at Lyric, 2007/08 season. DAN REST