One of Verdi's most popular opera, La Traviata is based on La Dame
aux Camélias ("Camille"), the novel and play by Alexandre Dumas, fils
that enthralled Parisian audiences of the 1850s with a stirring
portrayal of a beautiful courtesan redeemed by love. With his
librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi transformed the Dumas story of
a passionate, ultimately poignant love affair within the intoxicating
demimonde of Paris in the mid-1800s to an exciting, deeply moving
musical drama.
La Traviata fortunately survived its dismal first production in Venice
in 1853 to become a worldwide favorite, treasured by musical artists and
audiences alike for the lyric beauty of its arias and ensembles, and for
the dramatic force and finesse of its orchestral scoring. This
full-score edition, designed to provide a lifetime of study and
enjoyment, is reproduced from the authoritative edition prepared for G.
Ricordi of Milan. It will afford opera lovers a rare opportunity to
study intimately Verdi's genius for operatic composition in the early
years of its greatest flowering.