Opera Prelude: La Traviata – Fact, Fiction and Mythology

Alex Aldren (tenor), accompanied by Natalie Burch on piano.

La Dame aux Camelias was a real woman, Alphonsine Duplessis. But how much of her real character and story survived the journey from real life to novel, to stage play to Italian opera? We examine what we know of her short but dramatic life, how Alexandre Dumas created a sensational novel about her affair, adapted the drama again to create the most successful play of the 19th Century, and how Verdi and Francesco Piave were inspired to bring his shocking story to the opera stage.

Opera Prelude is a small charity supporting young professional opera singers who give lecture recitals in London. These friendly and inclusive events will introduce you to the international opera singers of tomorrow by way of recitals, concerts and masterclasses.