Videos, Podcasts and More
Videos
Podcasts
Monday, June 29, 2009
La Traviata: The Real Violetta
The most fascinating aspect of Verdi’s La traviata is that the story is based on true events in the life of a real, 19th century French socialite, who had many aristocratic, well-connected and famous lovers, went through numerous fortunes and died of tuberculosis at the tender age of 23. Who was this remarkable woman? Listen to this week’s podcast to find out!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Favorite Violettas: La Traviata in Recorded History
Among the favorite heroines in opera we have Violetta, a tragic figure to be sure, but a glorious one because of her musical and theatrical personality. Many great sopranos have essayed the role. Let's listen to some of them and try to recreate some of the excitement that they must have produced onstage.
La traviata
In the world of 19th century Paris’ glittering “demi-monde”, rich men enjoyed the company of beautiful women – for a price. Yet, for a brief moment in this decadent whirlwind, two hearts found true love – only to be separated by family, society and finally, death.
Star of our 2008 Pagliacci, soprano Elizabeth Futral returns as Violetta after dazzling Berlin, Chicago and Los Angeles as the charismatic courtesan. Her lover Alfredo is 2001 Cardiff “Singer of The World”, tenor Marius Brenciu, reprising the role he sang to critical acclaim in Berlin and Rome.
With its spectacular music and poignant story, Verdi’s La traviata is one of the most popular of all operas. Add San Francisco Opera’s lavish sets, gorgeous costumes and marvelous singers and you have one of the hottest tickets of the season – a great reason to subscribe now!
The running time is approximately 3 hours, 5 minutes including three 20-minute intermissions.