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Alfredo and Violetta set the stage in “ La Traviata ,” broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera.
Sunday, Dec. 30, 12:55 p.m.—RUTLAND— Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer’s richly textured new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera, at the Paramount Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 30 for a 12:55 p.m. encore performance screening. The show features a dazzling 19th-century setting that changes with the seasons.
Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez returns to the Met for the first time since 2015 to sing the role of Alfredo, Violetta’s hapless lover. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is Alfredo’s father, Germont, who destroys their love.
With “La Traviata,” Verdi and Piave fashioned an opera from a play by Alexander Dumas called “La Dame aux Camélias.” “La Dame” was a meditation on the author’s youthful affair with the celebrated prostitute Marie Duplessis, known as a sophisticated and well-read woman whose charms and tact far surpassed her station. The play is still staged today in its original form and exists in several film incarnations, most notably Greta Garbo’s “Camille” (1936).
Verdi’s “La Traviata” survived a notoriously unsuccessful opening night to become one of the best-loved operas in the repertoire. Following the larger-scale dramas of “Rigoletto” and “Il Trovatore,” its intimate scope and subject matter inspired the composer to create some of his most profound and heartfelt music. The title role of the fallen woman has captured the imaginations of audiences and performers alike with its inexhaustible vocal and dramatic possibilities—and challenges. Violetta is considered a pinnacle of the soprano repertoire.
Run time is just over three hours. There will be two intermissions, about 30 minutes each. Tickets are $23 for adults, and $10 for students, available online at paramountvt.org. The Paramount Theatre is located at 30 Center St., Rutland.
