The Tragic Story of Alfredo and Violetta

Last night I had the unique experience of attending an Italian opera in Rennes. The opera, La Traviata, meaning "The Fallen Women" or "The Woman who Strayed" was written in 1853 by Guiseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, which was adapted from a novel written by the son of Alexandre Dumas.

A little before 7:00, I headed toward downtown Rennes where a big screen was set up across from the opera house. The opera started at 8:00, but people were already setting up their chairs and picnic blankets. The sun was bright when we got there and didn't set until close to 10:00 or 10:30.

We had a pasta picnic but forgot plates so improvised! In retrospect, we should have brought pasta with Alfredo sauce...

One thing I noticed about how the French picnic--they bring glass goblets and bottles of wine! I'll know better next time!

The crowd was huge. I don't think we would get such a big crowd if there was an opera showing in Kansas.

Aren't the old buildings so cool?!

This was the opera house that we sat in front of. Only the elite crowd (those who pay!) sat inside. 

Do you see those three guys on the balcony in the middle? 

I zoomed in to see what they were up to and this is what I saw:

See the guy on the left?

Hilarious! 

Ever since I've seen Little Women, I've always wanted to inconspicuously throw grapes down on people. Bananas, well, they would work, too!

This was the screen. Enormous!

Some people were lucky enough to be able to sit on the balcony of their apartment to enjoy the show.

The opera was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E ! The music from the orchestra and the singing mixed together was spectacular! Let me introduce you to Violetta, our tragic heroine, the woman gone astray.

The actress playing Violetta was actually an under-study as the normal actress was sick. Still, she was sensational!

And this...this is Alfredo! Or, as they said in the opera over and over again, Alfre-e-e-edo!

This guy with Violetta is Alfredo's dad. If I read the French subtitles correctly and understood the Italian correctly, he was trying to break apart the love of Alfredo and Violetta. Foolishness really, for who can break apart true love?!

There is always a letter/note of some kind in any great love story: Pride and Prejudice, Les Misérables, The Scarlet Pimpernel, etc. (That is why I find emails to be such stoic unromantic inventions.) Of course, the letter was wet with tears as she poured out her broken love onto the paper. Really, I'm not being dramatic.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

The pictures pretty much sum up the whole story,huh?!

Here's the father. He was interviewed during the intermission. Look at all that make-up!

I like this picture because it shows the opera house and the huge crowd on the screen.

Just after the intermission, the orchestra played one of the love songs and the audience could sing along. I tried so hard to sing opera-like, but my Italian is a bit rusty and I got a little lost! Halle was smart and printed off the actual music ahead of time so she could practice.

The lyrics were rich with phrases like, "Oh, Alfre-e-e-edo, even dead, I will still love you."

(Images of The Princess Bride kept running through my mind!)

At this point, I thought poor Alfre-e-e-edo was dead, because he was lying on her lap, silent and still. Then, all of a sudden, he was back up on his feet. I must have mis-read the subtitles!

Of course, there was a dual, but thankfully Alfre-e-e-edo survived...only to have his Bright Star succumb to tuberculosis. I think she almost died 5  times before she actually "gave up her soul." 

I don't think Alfre-e-e-edo ever recovered.

At the very end, the actors and actresses came out to the opera house balcony to wave to us groundlings outside. So cool!

This picture is my favorite! Doesn't it just scream Italian Opera?!!?!?

I never thought I'd enjoy opera, but this experience was really cool.

I realize this blog post may have seemed as long as the opera itself, so to close, I leave you with one parting word that was sung majestically throughout the performance in many different octaves: "adieeeeuuuuuuu!"