Baltimore Opera Company

Study Guide

La Traviata

Perspectives on an Aria: "Sempre libera"

Opera was invented in the seventeenth century in an attempt to revive Greek drama. The vocal line was intended to be nothing more than dramatic speech raised by singing to a higher level of intensity. But the earliest composers of opera were Italians, and it is not surprising that very soon they began to write vocal lines which had a life of their own—lines which, in other words, were shaped by a musical structure and in which the singing was conceived not as a heightened form of declamation of the text, but as a melody.

These melodies were called “arias”, the Italian word for melody. At first, as we may imagine, the arias were few and far between, since their presence was considered an intrusion. An opera was, after all, a dramatic work, not a musical one. The principal function of the vocal line was to embody the recitation of the drama. Its character should therefore be, not musical, but recitative.

This dichotomy between aria and recitative grew more and more pronounced, and as composers gave increased importance to the melodic content of their works, the dramatic values became seriously endangered by the constant stopping of the action to allow the singer to indulge in virtuosic vocal display. This was the state of affairs during much of the eighteenth century, as exemplified in the operas of Handel.

Toward the end of the century, one of the solutions found by great composers was to change the form of the aria. The problem with the eighteenth century aria was, like most monologues, it was static. The aria consisted only of the exposition of the soloist's state of mind and did not allow for any forward movement of the dramatic events. The solution that suggested itself was to incorporate dramatic change into the aria. The end of the aria, then, had to be different from the beginning. Put simply, the aria must consist of two major parts: one expressing the initial state of the character and the other expressing the final state at which he had arrived.

The aria had now become a two-part form. The first part, containing the inner feelings of the character which motivates him to undergo a dramatic evolution, came to be called the cavatina , since it was cast, by convention if for no other reason, in a slow, contemplative mode. The second part, containing the resolution to which the conflicts of the character's feeling had propelled him, was generally of a more energetic and external nature, and was called the cabaletta . Each part may be preceded by any kind of dramatic material (recitatives, etc.) that may be required by dramaturgical necessity.

This two-part form has never been more aptly employed than it is by Verdi at the end of the first act of La Traviata .

Violetta's guests have all gone home, leaving her alone to contemplate the proposal of Alfredo. Her aria begins with a recitative (“E strano!”) in which she considers Alfredo's words and the possible effect of love on her way of life. This leads her shortly to the cavatina (“Ah, fors'è lui”), where she reveals her dreams of a man who would share her life and offer her true love. The cavatina incorporates an important innovation form– the second half of it consists of a repetition of the words and music with which Alfredo described his feelings to her earlier in the evening.

Between the cavatina and the cabaletta, in the usage of composers of the period, almost anything could be inserted. The most common insertions are recitatives, choruses and even purely instrumental pieces (like marches or dances). In this case, however, Verdi contents himself with a short but brilliant recitative in which Violetta expresses the conflict and alarm she feels at the prospect of falling in love. Her decision to keep free of all entanglements is embodied in the gloriously expressive cabaletta (“Sempre libera”). The increasing wildness of the coloratura passages aptly portrays Violetta's almost pathological anxiety at the inner conflict she is experiencing. This miraculous fusion of dramatic truth, beautiful melody and great opportunity for vocal display brings the act to an unforgettable end.

William Yannuzzi

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