The Art of Opera, and other Music

I am a great lover of music. And my taste is rather strange, I feel. The music I listen to must speak to me in some way, it can speak to my emotions, it can speak to me in some other way I do not really can concretize in words. But for to give some examples of music I love, we have for example The IV Crusade with Bolt thrower, it is great metal music, but I do not love all metal music, or Carolus Rex with Sabaton, Within the Ancient Forest with Paramaecium, or Enemy of the Music Business with Napalm Death for to give some examples of metal music I love.

I also like Classical music, like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, or violin concerto La cetra, or Gloria, I love Grieg’s Piano concert in A minor, or Bach’s keyboard concertos, or Rachmaninoff’s and many of Mozart’s piano concertos, or Chopin’s piano concerto No. 1. But I do not like all classical music. 

I have always loved opera, but for many years I could not listen to it, in a way I think it hurt too much to listen to it, all the emotions that opera can cause. But I have started to listen again, and it is clear that I do not like all opera. When I was younger I preferred Puccini's operas, I have never really cared for Wagner or Strauss, but I listened to Verdi, Mozart, Gounod and Tchaikovsky. My favourite opera when I was younger was La Boheme, it is still a great opera, but today I have found out that I really love Verdi’s La Traviata. And it is the opera I would like to discuss today.

It is an opera in three acts, and it has everything. The music is incredible and mesmerising. La Boheme is building more on the arias and singing, but La Traviata builds on the great music, and the great singing. Verdi was here a true genius. I know that some people will hate my statements now, but I love La Traviata as film. I have watched two movies, one with Anna Moffo as Violetta and Franco Bonisolli from 1968. And one newer with Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo from 1982. I cannot stop watching these. The sound is not perfect on the 1968 film, but Anna Moffo and Franco Bonisolli are. The sound is much better on the 1982 film, and Stratas and Domingo are perfect. I have compared these to many live performances of La Traviata on DVD and Blu-ray and no one catches the same emotions within me as these two movies. I do not know why. And I hate when they put the scene of the opera in modern time, and putting things in the opera that never has been there. The clips below will be from these two films.

Let us recapitulate what La Traviata is about. Violetta is a courtesan in Paris in the 1830s, she is sick, and have been bedridden, now she has a party at her lovely home, and meets Alfred Germont for the first time. Violetta is a woman that have never loved or at least have not let it happen, all is a business to her, she lives for the glory of her beauty, and to revel in parties. When Violetta during the party has an episode of weakness does Alfredo care for her, and he declares his love for her. Below: Alfredo declares that his love is both the torment and delight of his heart, the love is something mysterious and noble, the pulse of the universe. It is incredible, how Violetta, this worldly woman is taken by surprise by this pure love that Alfredo is expressing to her so directly (1968).

And for the first time in her life is Violetta in love, and she cannot comprehend what is happening to her, she thinks about this love and these emotions that she feels within, and then she calls them madness, and says that only temporal pleasure is real in her life, and then she hears Alfredo in the distant singing about this mysterious and noble love, and she gives in, she falls into love. 

In the second act do they live together on the countryside (when we leave our sin we should always leave our former life with its temptations, and I know, cohabitation is sinful), and all is perfect, they think. But life is never perfect. The father of Alfredo comes and begs that Violetta shall leave Alfredo. He sees himself as sent and speaking for God (we have many like this today), and he has a daughter that is engaged, but if Alfredo does not return home and leave Violetta with her stained past will the marriage not take place. Violetta makes clear to Alfredo's father that she has abandoned her former life, and she knows that God has forgiven her, because of her great repentance (it is a little Catholic), but at the same time she has this great sorrow that when God has forgiven her all her sins, that man is not able to forgive, but are implacable towards her (I do not believe that Violetta at this stage has reached true repentance and salvation). But she gives in and leaves Alfredo, but says to the father that he one day must tell him about her great sacrifice, and that she loves Alfredo until her last breath, and then she goes back to her former life. This is sin in the making. This frail woman that have left her sinful past for another sinful life, goes from the ashes into the fire again. And I am sure that has been Violetta’s lot in life. Listen to the beautiful scene between Violetta and Alfredo’s father (1982).

What is now coming is something special musically. The music varies between the feverish and nervous, and the thoughtful in a masterful way, I very much love how they play it (I prefer it from the 1982 film). Alfredo knows where Violetta is heading, and he comes first, she comes later with the Baron, and you hear in the music the feelings and emotions like they live outside Violetta, this stressful feeling of anxiety and fear you can get when you do not know what will happen, you only know it will result in a catastrophe. So you have this music with anxiety and anger and fear, and the music where Violetta wonders why she has come, and begs God for help and mercy. It is exceeding beautiful (1968).

And when Alfredo has Violetta for himself, he wants her back, but she cannot come with him, he wonders why, and she says that she loves someone else (she lies to not give  Alfredo's father away), and Alfredo completely loses it, and before everybody makes a scene and abuses Violetta, and when he understands what he has done he is devastated, so beautifully sung by Domingo. And after does Violetta declare her love for Alfredo, that he will never understand her deep love for him, and when he does, he will have great remorse, and Alfredo’s father sings that he knows that her love is true for Alfredo, but he must keep silent. This is so beautiful sung by all three: Alfredo sings about his remorse, Violetta about her great love for Alfredo, and Alfredo's father that he knows the truth but must keep silent, and the crowd in different voices. Watch it below (1982).

In the fourth act we find Violetta living impoverished, and she is dying from the illness she has had the whole time (probably tuberculosis). Now she has gotten a letter from Alfredo’s father, and he tells her that Alfredo now knows the truth and is heading back to her to beg for forgiveness, but it is too late, she is dying. But here I believe that Violetta for the first time in her life has a true repentance and conversion, where she asks God to receive her, she gives him all her trust. It is very moving (1968).

And when Alfredo comes, they declare their love for each other. And Violetta wants to go to church to thank the Lord that Alfredo is back, but it comes to her with great pain the revelation that not even Alfred's return will save her. Not even their great love will change her fate, or the appointed day, that we all have from our Lord, but that she now must die (1982).

And then Violetta gives Alfredo a medallion with a picture of her, and says that if he ever meets a young woman that gives him his heart that he shall marry her because that is her wish. And she shall pray for them from heaven. And again Verdi has composed this beautiful singing in different voices. And then Violetta feels invigorated and alive, the pain is strangely gone, and she stands up, and dies. It such sadness to watch (1968).  

I hope that someone will fall in love with this beautiful opera. It is a masterpiece. It has everything. It has love, a sinful life, redemption and forgiveness, it has sacrifice, it has revenge, grief, sorrow, it has joy, it has this transformative thing that love can be. I know that only God can transform a life, make man into a new creature, but love has this possibility in a human way, it is beautifully shown here. Man can grow and change in part, by love. And love can be a good starting point for other things like getting good routines, but it will not transform man, neither save him. Nevertheless, love is a beautiful gift God has given man, and this opera is one of the most perfect ways it has been shown to man. I love it, and I cannot stop watching these two films of La Traviata. They awakens something within, and I have not found some better version of La Traviata yet than these two movies, get them before it is to late. The links above goes to Amazon but you can also find them at prestomusic.com. I wrote a post about repentance with respect to this post, you may find it here.