Editing La traviata (section)

==Music==

The [[Prelude (music)|prelude]] to the opera begins with very soft, very high strings depicting the frail heroine, followed by the main love theme of the opera, which is then played on lower strings while the higher instruments decorate the melody.<ref name=Grove>{{harvnb|Parker|2002}}</ref>

This delicate atmosphere is altered on curtain rise by lively dance tunes in the orchestra. After the famous "Brindisi", an offstage band plays a series of waltzes (waltz rhythms pervade the first act of the opera, creating a Parisian atmosphere).<ref name=Grove/> The concluding part of Violetta's solo scene that ends the first act is full of vocal decoration and feverish ornamentation as she swears to stay free ("Sempre libera"). These [[coloratura]] effects are not required for the character after the first act.<ref name=Grove/>

The lengthy and crucial duet between the elder Germont and Violetta in act 2 is multi-sectioned with the music following the changing dramatic situation.<ref name=Grove/>

''La traviata'' is the only one of Verdi's many operas to be set entirely indoors. Unlike ''Il trovatore'', which was composed simultaneously, ''La traviata'' is an intimate piece, full of tender lyricism. The character of Violetta dominates the work and her music changes as she develops through the drama, from the hectic, almost hysterical coloratura of the first act, to the more dramatic passages of the second, and the spiritual quality of her music as she dies in act 3.<ref name=Grove/>

===Recordings===
{{Main|La traviata discography{{!}}''La traviata'' discography}}