La traviata – A Cultural Icon
Whether you’ve seen La traviata before or not, you may have heard it in movie soundtracks or seen films that are based on the opera. Verdi’s melodies and the story of La traviata have been a part of many well-known movies, further cementing it in the cultural consciousness. There’s a reason this opera stands the test of time, and it has a lot to do with how La traviata speaks to human connection.
Without further ado, here are four movies that feature La traviata:
THE GODFATHER (1972) dir. Francis Ford Coppola
There’s a lot of opera music in the the Godfather trilogy that is peppered amid Nino Rota’s soundtrack, and La traviata does make an appearance. During Michael Corleone and Apollonia Vitelli’s Sicilian wedding in the first movie, you hear the Brindisi, “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from act one of La traviata. The wedding band plays an instrumental version of the famous tune at the wedding party—and despite the lack of lyrics, the bouncy, jovial character of the Brindisi comes through. The use of Verdi’s music evokes the Italian spirit, for sure, but the symbolism of the Brindisi goes further. The Brindisi has a long history of being sung in Sicily to celebrate liberation, and with its ties to Sicily come ties to the history of the mafia. It’s a perfect example of how Verdi evokes the Italian spirit and builds community through his music.
MOULIN ROUGE! (2001) dir. Baz Luhrmann
While Baz Luhrmann cites other source material, including Puccini’s La bohème, for sources of inspiration, Moulin Rouge! has undeniable parallels to La traviata. This time, the similarity lies in the plot, rather than the music, and there are countless similarities: both take place in Paris, both protagonists (Violetta and Satine) are popular courtesans suffering from illness who find themselves in love triangles with a wealthy patron (Baron Douphol/Duke of Monroth) and find their true love (Alfredo/Christian), Christian and Alfredo embarrass Satine and Violetta by throwing money at them for their “services,” both the Duke and the Baron unsuccessfully attempt to kill their rivals, and the two women die in the arms of their true love. There’s even more than that, and given the countless connections, it’s hard to believe that Luhrmann wasn’t inspired by Verdi’s tragic romance. See the clip below where Christian throws money at Satine, which is exactly what happens in act two, scene two of La traviata.
WARNING: Strong Language
KNIVES OUT (2019) dir. Rian Johnson
SPOILER ALERT (Given that Knives Out is a mystery movie, we strongly recommend that you watch the movie before reading this, as we reveal some plot points)
Director Rian Johnson is known for his meticulous plots, especially in Knives Out and its sequel, Glass Onion. In a later scene of Knives Out, where Benoit Blanc goes to consult Greatnana Thrombey, the mother of the late Harlan Thrombey, you can hear that the matriarch is listening to Anna Netrebko perform “È strano! … Ah, fors’ è lui”, part of Violetta’s string of arias that end act one of La traviata. It’s a bit on the nose to have the oldest character in the movie listening to opera, which is stereotyped as being old and stuffy; however, the reference here could go deeper. Greatnana, despite her age, plays a very important role in Blanc’s investigation, just as La traviata remains important to the operatic genre today. Another interpretation could be that, though the aria is from act one, the depressing image of Greatnana looking out her window could parallel Violetta in act three on her deathbed, watching the world carry on.
Beyond this scene, La traviata and Knives Out both focus on marginalized protagonists, Violetta and Marta, who both experience struggles based on class or circumstance. Marta is othered by the Thrombey family, despite being accepted by Harlan Thrombey, while Violetta is othered by Germont, despite being accepted by Alfredo.
PRETTY WOMAN (1990) dir. Garry Marshall
While the movies we’ve mentioned so far either borrow music or take inspiration from the plot of La traviata, this movie has elements of both. If you’ve seen Pretty Woman before, you might remember the scene where Vivian and Edward go to the San Francisco Opera together. They don’t specifically mention it, but the opera they’re seeing is La traviata. We see scenes from the first and second act, and Vivian is clearly moved by the plot, despite apparently not having access to subtitles (since Edward tells her the music will convey what’s happening).
In the last scene of the movie, we also hear part of “Amami, Alfredo,” which was featured in the scenes they saw the opera. This aria plays while Edward miraculously reunites with Vivian.
Beyond the use of music, there are some parallels between the plot, but sometimes, these get blown out of proportion. Vivian and Violetta (whose names are even similar) are in the same line of work, though Vivian, as a prostitute in the 1980s/90s, doesn’t have the same social standing as Violetta. They each find true love in Edward and Alfredo, but here’s where things diverge: Edward is far wealthier than Vivian, while Violetta is somewhat better off than Alfredo, whose family is middle-class. While Alfredo and Violetta’s relationship is more about Violetta experiencing love for the first time, Edward and Vivian’s is about Vivian getting to experience love and luxury. The other major difference here, of course, is that Edward and Vivian get a happy ending, while Violetta and Alfredo do not. That being said, while the two relationships are different, they both are examples of marginalized protagonists being treated with dignity and love.
La traviata is a part of many other movies, TV shows, video games (in Grand Theft Auto games!), and more. It’s a true testament to Verdi’s choice in plot and masterful music that the opera is a part of the cultural consciousness to this day. At its heart, La traviata gives the audience the opportunity to root for a woman on the margins: to celebrate her joy in finding love, and to mourn her sacrifice and death. The drama of La traviata is so easy to connect to because it’s simple and understandable. Maybe Verdi knew that the emotions it evokes would stand the test of time.
Experience this tale of love and loss this November 1, 4, 7, and 9.
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