Portal:Opera/Selected picture/59
Credit: Leopoldo Ratti (1821-1874); restoration by Adam Cuerden
Cover of an early vocal score for Verdi's 1853 opera La traviata. The scene depicted is from the final act where the Parisian courtesan Violetta dies in the arms of her lover Alfredo while his father looks on. The opera's story, adapted from the 1852 play La dame aux Camélias]] by Alexandre Dumas fils, was meant to set in mid-19th century France as a contemporary drama. However, the Italian censors insisted that such a scandalous story be set in the distant past. Hence, the 17th-century costumes worn in this illustration. It was not until the 1880s that the composer and librettist's original wishes for the opera's setting were carried out.