The opera is something that I would have never thought to check out by myself, so I was quick to sign up for this unique opportunity. I quickly picked up on the aesthetics of La Traviata. I felt the play was designed in a minimalist manner to put the focus on the characters. Because there were so few features that caught the eye, every detail selection invited question. Why was Violetta’s dress red? Why did all of the males wear interchangeable tuxedos? What was up with the doctor?

La Traviata forces the viewer to confront his/her own morality in a way that parallels Violetta’s own journey. The courtesan suffers an affliction which is left unnamed as the important detail is that it is ending her life prematurely. Only Violetta and the audience are aware of the clock and Death Incarnate on the stage, while the males dancing in Violetta’s circles are preoccupied with their hedonist lifestyle. This approach contrasts with Violetta’s attempts to escape her fate by turning to love for some independence. When Violetta finally acknowledges the doctor she collapses, perhaps suggesting it was all for vain.

This past Saturday I was very excited to attend a live streaming at the mall of the Metropolitan Opera’s La Traviata. While I am by no means an expert on opera, I did take a class on the history of opera in my freshman year which introduced me to a variety of modern and classic operas. One of the first operas we saw in this class was an extravagant movie version of La Traviata, with ornate sets and period costumes. With this experience in mind, I was intrigued to see how the Met would stage the opera differently and whether this different staging would affect my experience and understanding of the opera.

The Met’s staging of the opera turned out to be an extreme minimalist style, with the stage surrounded by a blank circular wall and the only furniture being a few modern-looking couches and a giant clock. The characters costumes were similarly simplified and modern and the entire opera contained only a handful of props. While I’m sure the movie version I saw was closer to the original vision of the composer, I actually felt that this minimalist version allowed me to focus less on the external scenery and more on the internal conflicts of the characters which form the core of the narrative. Additionally, the strategic incorporation of objects heightened their dramatic significance, especially in the case of the giant clock which symbolizes the approaching death of the protagonist Viola. While her behavior in the opera at times comes across as light-hearted and flippant if you focus on her words alone, the presence of this ticking clock was a constant reminder that her actions might be motivated more by despair and desperation than frivolity.

The Met Opera put together a more contemporary rendition of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata.”  The play is about a woman, Violetta, afflicted by illness who subsequently falls in love with a man, Alfredo.  While all the main characters have their own pressing issues that are addressed throughout the opera, I particularly like Violetta’s.  Violetta, selecting from many of her admirers, pays more attention to Alfredo for his looks.  She also discovers that he had been quietly admiring her for a year, during which time she did not know who he was.  Alfredo’s patience is enough to set him apart from the other men who, in a lustful stupor, frequently chase Violetta around and fall at her heels.

Despite some of Alfredo’s unique and desirable traits, I can’t help but think Violetta’s realization of her own mortality plays a major role in her choice to fall in love.  And it’s hard to blame her.  If you had a small time left to live, someone took romantic interest in you and you thought they were at least remotely attractive, I think it would be very easy to bow to the whims of romance without being too critical.    It makes me wonder if that weakens the relationship.  Alfredo had been meditating about this woman for a year, and while the two do have great passion for each other, Violetta does not have much time to deliberately weigh the pros and cons of falling so madly in love with her man.

The GRF who took us to see the opera mentioned that much of what the play is about is how a person chooses to live her life knowing that she will die, yet at the same time how that is the way everybody lives their lives everyday.  It’s definitely easy to forget your own limited amount of time living unless an illness abruptly reminds you of it.  There seems to be an optimal balance of living knowing you will die, while still thoughtfully considering the future.  The former is important so as to not waste away your days with little fruition, sort of how many of Violetta’s suitors actively chase her but never develop any other kind of relationship with her.  The latter is important so as to not rush into brash decisions laden with obstacles that may present themselves in the near or late future.  The tragedy for Violetta is that she doesn’t have much of a choice: her days are numbered from the beginning of the opera and she doesn’t have many left.