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La traviata
The Fallen Woman

[Melodramma in three acts] by
FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE

First performance:
Venice, Teatro La Fenice, 6 March 1853

Critical Edition by
FABRIZIO DELLA SETA

The University of Chicago Press 1997

CHARACTERS:
VIOLETTA VALÉRY, soprano
FLORA BERVOIX, mezzo-soprano
ANNINA, Violetta's chambermaid, soprano
ALFREDO GERMONT, tenor
GIORGIO GERMONT, Alfredo's father, baritone
GASTONE, Viscomte de Letorières, tenor
BARON DOUPHOL, Violetta's protector, baritone
MARQUIS D'OBIGNY, friend of Flora, bass
DOCTOR GRENVIL, bass
GIUSEPPE, Violetta's servant, tenor
Flora’s servant, bass
Messenger, bass

Mixed chorus of ladies and gentlemen, friends of Violetta and Flora, matadors, picadors, gypsies
Extras: servants of Violetta and Flora, maskers; dancers.

The scene is set in Paris and the vicinity, circa 1850

Instrumentation: Piccolo/Flute, 2 Oboes 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Cimbasso, Timpani, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Triangle, Harp, Strings.
Onstage: Tambourines, Pikes. Offstage: Band; in the Bacchanale N. 9: 2 Piccolos, 4 Clarinets, 2 Horns, 2 Trombones, Castanets, Tambourines
Performance time: 2h

Now one of Verdi's most beloved works, La traviata was initially far from a success. Verdi declared its 1853 premiere a "fiasco," and later reworked parts of five pieces in the first two acts, retaining the original setting for the rest. The first performance of the new version in 1854 was a tremendous success, and the opera was quickly taken up by theaters around the world.

This critical edition presents the 1854 version as the main score, and also makes available for the first time in full score the original 1853 settings of the revised pieces. For this edition Fabrizio Della Seta used not only the composer's autograph and many secondary sources, but also Verdi's previously unknown sketches, which helped corroborate the original readings and illuminate the work's compositional stages.

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