Travel tips for opera lovers – Venice and Giuseppe Verdi

Verdi in Venice

The series about historical places of opera art. Get to know exciting excursion and travel ideas for opera lovers. This time: Verdi in Venice.

All Destinations on google maps with links to detailed Blogposts:

Verdi in Venice

The Lagoon City had the honor to premiere two of the greatest Verdian operas at the Teatro la Fenice, the “Traviata” and the “Rigoletto“. One of them became an announced fiasco and the other a surprising triumph. There were only two years between them. We will talk about the fiasco in the musical excursus below.

Not much remains of Verdi’s traces in Venice, all the more his work is cultivated.

LINK TO THE COMPLETE VERDI BIOGRAPHY

TO THE TRAVEL GUIDE VENICE FOR OPERA AND CLASSIC LOVERS

Destination Teatro la Fenice

This glamorous and beautiful theater is of course mighty proud of the premiere of these two operas by Verdi. When it was restored to its former glory after a deliberately set fire (an attempted cover-up by those responsible for the construction), it was then reopened with Traviata in 2004. This theater shines with its acoustics, its beauty and the excellence of its performances. A visit to this theater is a must during a visit to the city, and a guided tour of the theater is also worthwhile.

Teatro la Fenice:

https://www.teatroallascala.org/en/index.html

Destination Musica al Palazzo

This institution offers opera in a small setting. In a living room or salon an opera is performed like a chamber play, the performers are singers plus an “orchestra” of 3 people. This works excellently and inspires the 20 – 30 visitors who can be seated in the salon. Verdi operas have an important place in the program.

Musica al Palazzo:

https://www.musicapalazzo.com/de/#contact

Musical background: The “Traviata”-Fiasco in Venice

Verdi already suspected in advance that the premiere could end in a fiasco. The choice of subject matter was a tremendous sensation, because until then Italian opera had only known historical subjects. With the contemporary “Traviata” it had arrived in the present for the first time. While kings and knights were the villains, Verdi took the risk of making a courtesan a heroine and holding up a mirror to Italian society. The “Teatro La Fenice” made this situation even worse by setting the action 150 years back into the baroque era, thus taking waltz music ad absurdum. In addition, there were casting difficulties because the opera was scheduled at short notice. Bitterly, Verdi had to admit at the premiere that it “La Traviata” only failed, but that people laughed at it as well. One of the reasons for the fiasco of the premiere of «La Traviata»  could have been the corpulence of the leading actress. She did not give the impression of an emaciated woman in the death scene of the third act, provoking laughter from the audience. One newspaper critic sardonically wrote that she was «as fat as a mortadella from Bologna».

Despite many requests, Verdi refrained from performances in other theaters and eighteen months later, he staged the “Traviata” in exemplary fashion under ideal conditions, and it became an immediate success.

The famous death scene from “La Traviata”, sung by Maria Callas:

https://opera-inside.com/la-traviata-by-giuseppe-verdi/#Teneste