Giuseppe Verdi: La traviata

Verdi’s La traviata has figured on the repertoire of this opera house ever since its foundation, when the new company co-opted the production of Prague’s German Estates Theatre. It then served chiefly as a vehicle for guest-appearances by illustrious international singers, including among others the legendary Australian soprano, Nellie Melby (April 18, 1900). The first authentic new staging was mounted by the New German Theatre (today’s Prague State Opera) on November 9, 1919, under the baton of Georg Széll, followed by a string of further productions, in 1930, 1934, 1945, 1959, 1979, and most recently, on October 7, 1982, which was directed by Ladislav Štros, with sets designed by Vladimír Nývlt and costumes by Josef Jelínek. That production came to rank alongside the Prague State Opera’s most successful titles, by the end of the 2005/2006 season reaching a total of 487 performances. The PSO’s latest production, dating from 2006, was mounted by an international team headed by the French stage director Arnaud Bernard, with the Italian conductor Enrico Dovico, the Prague State Opera’s permanent guest artist, in charge of music direction. This staging has since ranked alongside the company’s box-office hits, as well as reaping plaudits on the international circuit, including Japan (2007).

In La traviata, to the libretto from the novel by Alexandre Dumas the Younger, La Dame aux camélias, telling the story of Marie Duplessis, a noted courtesan and idol of the 1840s’ Parisian society, Verdi in fact created history’s first major opera dealing with a contemporary social theme. This was only one of the work’s several aspects that proved unpalatable for the audience at its premiere in Venice, in 1853: beyond that, they were similarly shocked by the principal part there being assigned to a courtesan, and that moreover she was portrayed as a heroine. Consequently, the premiere ended by a fiasco. Soon thereafter, nonetheless, Verdi’s La traviata scored its first triumphs, and ever since then has remained a hugely loved repertoire staple.

Premiere: Oct 5, 2006

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