Romantic Realism

NO SOURCES REQUIRED. Opera: Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata (Venice, 1853) Question= Roger Parker, a leading scholar, has called this opera ‘in many senses, [Verdi’s] most “realistic” drama’. Write a detailed commentary on the whole passage excerpted in this track, linking the predicament of the protagonist to Verdi’s original working title for the opera. How would you describe the shifting relationship between “romanticism” and “realism” throughout the opera? We focused on these acts/scenes in class: Example 1: Act I finale: “Ah fors’e? lui che l’anima” (Violetta’s “love” aira) Example 2: Act III, scene four, “Addio, del passato” (Violetta’s “death” aira) Example 3: Act III finale: “Prendi, quest e? l’immagine”