Maybe the most beloved, and certainly the most performed opera. Traviata means fallen woman, or a woman that is searching. And falling is what she does in this opera. From a rich courtesan in Paris, to a poor destitute, dying of consumption.
La Traviata is based on the Alexandre Dumas play La dame aux camélias from 1852. Verdi saw the play, and immediately started on the music for it. He created it in one of his most active periods. It premiered in la Fenice in Venice already the next year.
In performance and recording, this is an absolute masterpiece. It is a joy to listen to. I bought it in a time that I had decided to listen a bit more to opera, but I think I didn’t listen much to it. I bought so much wonderful stuf in this time, it might have goten lost between that. Listening to it now makes me want to hear more.