Umbria ( Perugia - La Traviata at Teatro Communale Morlacchi )
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
As I strolled along Corso Vanucci, I was captivated by the poster featuring the play of La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. I had always been fascinated by Italian operas but managed to watch Turandot by Giaccomo Puccini when it was staged in Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. At the apartment, I was telling Nico, an Italian friend who is studying at Music Conservatory in Perugia about it and he recommended me to watch it.
With his recommendation and also my personal desire to watch an Italian opera in Italy, I headed for Teatro Morlacchi to purchase the ticket a few nights before the opening. There were 2 price categories i.e. EUR19 and EUR29. The prices were cheap as compared to Esplanade’s especially for the top seats at EUR29. I was so happy after getting a ticket at Row M, somewhere in the middle and went to the internet website to search for more information of La Traviata. A synopsis of the play is useful so as to follow through the different acts and scenes.
On that day of performance, I was dressed in my smart casual and walked from Via Pinturicchio to Piazza Morlacchi. The weather was getting chilly and I was filled with much excitement as I approached the theatre. Crowds were gathering outside the theatre as some were waiting for their friends while the others enjoying their last few cigarette puffs before the play starts.
Inside the theatre, I was gazing all over the theatre for familiar faces of my classmates or Nico. However, soon I realized that there were mainly older folks around me and perhaps no other Asians around. The audience in the boxes were chatting and fanning themselves while seated patiently for the play to commence.
At 8.30pm, the curtains drew and the play began. My favourite was the scene of the toasting called “Brindisi”. The Italian word for toasting (gan bei) is Brindisi and this is also an alluring cityt in Apuglia (Puglia) , south-eastern region of Italy. The lyrics from this scene are the most melodious and I was enchanted by the dance movements and the gorgeous costumes of the performers.
During interval, I was chatting with the couple seated on my right. The husband is a civil engineer and his wife is a teacher at theUniversity for Foreigners teaching Italian in the 3rd grade. They were so amazed to see me alone (especially an Asian) attending the play that night. They were delighted to know that I had printed a synopsis and was telling me precisely those scenes which I may not have understood from Act 1. Her wife was so glad to see students like myself engaging in the cultural immersion. On my left was another couple. However, the husband was silent throughout but her wife was very friendly. We talked about tourism in Umbria versus Tuscany. She was glad that tourism in Umbria was not publicized zealously and this helped to maintain the serenity and charm of Umbria, the Green Heart of Italy.
The play ended around midnight and I was over-whelmed by the extent of Italian vocabulary that I was absorbing. It was a successful performance and the audiences shouted countless times of “Bravi” ( plural of Bravo ). I walked out of the theatre filled with sleepiness and satisfaction from the wonderful performance.
More information of La Traviata can be found here : http://www.wbopera.org/0001/Traviata/plot.html
As I strolled along Corso Vanucci, I was captivated by the poster featuring the play of La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. I had always been fascinated by Italian operas but managed to watch Turandot by Giaccomo Puccini when it was staged in Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. At the apartment, I was telling Nico, an Italian friend who is studying at Music Conservatory in Perugia about it and he recommended me to watch it.
With his recommendation and also my personal desire to watch an Italian opera in Italy, I headed for Teatro Morlacchi to purchase the ticket a few nights before the opening. There were 2 price categories i.e. EUR19 and EUR29. The prices were cheap as compared to Esplanade’s especially for the top seats at EUR29. I was so happy after getting a ticket at Row M, somewhere in the middle and went to the internet website to search for more information of La Traviata. A synopsis of the play is useful so as to follow through the different acts and scenes.
On that day of performance, I was dressed in my smart casual and walked from Via Pinturicchio to Piazza Morlacchi. The weather was getting chilly and I was filled with much excitement as I approached the theatre. Crowds were gathering outside the theatre as some were waiting for their friends while the others enjoying their last few cigarette puffs before the play starts.
Inside the theatre, I was gazing all over the theatre for familiar faces of my classmates or Nico. However, soon I realized that there were mainly older folks around me and perhaps no other Asians around. The audience in the boxes were chatting and fanning themselves while seated patiently for the play to commence.
At 8.30pm, the curtains drew and the play began. My favourite was the scene of the toasting called “Brindisi”. The Italian word for toasting (gan bei) is Brindisi and this is also an alluring cityt in Apuglia (Puglia) , south-eastern region of Italy. The lyrics from this scene are the most melodious and I was enchanted by the dance movements and the gorgeous costumes of the performers.
During interval, I was chatting with the couple seated on my right. The husband is a civil engineer and his wife is a teacher at theUniversity for Foreigners teaching Italian in the 3rd grade. They were so amazed to see me alone (especially an Asian) attending the play that night. They were delighted to know that I had printed a synopsis and was telling me precisely those scenes which I may not have understood from Act 1. Her wife was so glad to see students like myself engaging in the cultural immersion. On my left was another couple. However, the husband was silent throughout but her wife was very friendly. We talked about tourism in Umbria versus Tuscany. She was glad that tourism in Umbria was not publicized zealously and this helped to maintain the serenity and charm of Umbria, the Green Heart of Italy.
The play ended around midnight and I was over-whelmed by the extent of Italian vocabulary that I was absorbing. It was a successful performance and the audiences shouted countless times of “Bravi” ( plural of Bravo ). I walked out of the theatre filled with sleepiness and satisfaction from the wonderful performance.
More information of La Traviata can be found here : http://www.wbopera.org/0001/Traviata/plot.html
posted by Benny at
7:42 PM
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