The world-famous opera that was greeted with jeering

It is hard to believe that the premiere of Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ at La Fenice opera house in Venice in March 1853 was greeted by some jeers.

This was because of the casting for Violetta and an audience dislike of the singing of two male leads. Verdi undertook some revisions, but even these didn’t make the opera immediately popular with everyone. Queen Victoria declined to attend the performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1856, the church having questioned the morals of the work.

These setbacks aside, it went on to become one of the most successful operas of all time. Still immensely popular, Romanian soprano Anita Hartig will be taking the role of Violetta for a Balearic Symphony Orchestra performance. She has previously been Violetta, such as with the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2019.