LA TRAVIATA: Everything you need to know

LA TRAVIATA: Everything you need to know by Gina Williams-Ghouse AM

Kaya you mob, get ready to fall in love with West Australian Opera’s production of La Traviata!

Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata centres around a Parisian woman named Violetta, who is a “lady of the night.”  When we meet her, she’s met someone and has fallen in lurve…His family aren’t thrilled with our working girl’s “profession,” so they bust up.

Awwwww…as if that isn’t tough enough, Violetta’s managed to catch something and (in true opera form), she dies…

BUT WAIT!!!!

None of this happens before we fall in love with our girl because we KNOW that in spite of her reputation and financial entrapment in the industry she’s stuck in, she’s still livin’ her life on her terms sister is doin’ it for herself. She’s definitely there for a good time, even if it isn’t a long time.

So, what’s cool about this opera? The MUSIC of course! There’s are plenty of BANGERS in La Traviata – forget the pasta commercials – these tracks have been featured in movies like Pretty Woman, Moulin Rouge and even Priscilla Queen of the Desert. You might recognise the best-known piece of music, which is the drinking song, Brindisi.

Now look out! This opera is a dramatic feast - stunning costumes, bold lighting, a chorus of 40 singers and an orchestra of 50 – all unamplified. Listen out for amazing vocals and unforgettable melodies. The story is set in Paris, sung in Italian. Sounds confusing? Don’t worry, we got ya – there’s English captions of the show above the stage so you’re not guessing.

And finally a couple of fun facts: Giuseppe Verdi was so inspired by this story as a play, then as a book. He wrote this at a time when operas were usually about far off lands, empires, gods from historical periods. La Traviata caused controversy because it’s an intimate contemporary story, set in living rooms, about families and relationships. It was a bit close to home for original audiences…wonder what they would have thought of reality TV then...

Anyway! Grab your tickets – no point busting yourself when it’s all done and dusted. While you’re there get yourself fed and watered in any number of great places in Perth and make a night of it.

Hope to see you there J