A courtesan trades champagne for heartbreak in opera's most devastating love story.
James Levine leads a remarkable cast in one of Verdi’s most enduringly popular operas and brings fresh insights to this beloved score. Ileana Cotrubas is poignant and touching as Violetta, the consumptive courtesan who finds true love with Alfredo, sung with style and passion by the great Plácido Domingo. Cornell MacNeil is Germont, Alfredo’s father, who forces the two apart, setting in motion events that lead to a shattering and tragic conclusion. Colin Graham’s production features design by Tanya Moiseiwitsch and choreography by Zachary Solov.
Acting
Cotrubas embodies Violetta's fragility with devastating precision.
Direction
Levine's conducting finds fresh urgency in familiar music.
Production
Moiseiwitsch's period design oozes 19th-century decadence.
Director
Brian Large
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1981 telecast helped introduce opera to PBS audiences and remains one of the most-watched Met broadcasts ever.
Verdi fought censors who objected to depicting a 'fallen woman' sympathetically; he insisted audiences see Violetta's humanity.
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