Not Your Father's Traviata
Although My Dad would have liked it.
I just saw a gripping La Traviata on YouTube. The title for the post included "Poor Verdi" so you know I just had to see/hear it!!
It's not at ALL traditional—a little grimy, but very moving, I thought. There was a total of four Violettas on stage (five if you count Germont’s daughter, who was kind of another Violetta). Two singing, one dancing, and one as a child. Was Giorgio Germont really Violetta's dad or was it just symbolism of how badly well-heeled men treated lesser-born women?
It’s also slightly out of score order. It should not be one’s first exposure to the opera! But, that said, I highly recommend it to anyone who is open to new interpretations of well-known classics.