Verdi's opera · Rome
Verdi's tragedy of Violetta and Alfredo, with soloists, choir and orchestra, inside a Via Nazionale church.
Likely to sell out. A full Verdi tragedy, sung under a gold-ground apse.
Verdi's night in four facts
A programme note
Most of Verdi's operas sweep between palaces, camps and public squares. La traviata is the only one set entirely indoors, and Wikipedia calls it an intimate piece full of tender lyricism. A nave keeps the voices close, so Violetta's farewell is heard at the scale it was written for.
St Paul's Within the Walls is an Episcopal church whose own site says it hosts many ticketed concerts, mostly operatic, run by outside organisations. The apse above the singers is covered in mosaics designed by Edward Burne-Jones, so the setting is part of the evening.
The story fits in a sentence: a Paris courtesan gives up her old life for love and is forced to give it up. It is sung in Italian, but the three acts are easy to follow once you know them, and the music includes a drinking song that most people have heard before.
Three acts, one night
This is the story the evening tells, taken from the opera's libretto as Wikipedia summarises it. Cast, conductor and production details vary by date; the plot does not.
Act I
Violetta's salon, Paris
Violetta Valéry hosts a party. Alfredo Germont is urged to sing a brindisi, the drinking song Libiamo ne' lieti calici, and the guests move on to dance. Short of breath, Violetta stays behind, and Alfredo declares his love. She gives him a flower to return when it has wilted, then ends the act alone, wondering whether to stay free.
Act II
A country house, then Flora's party
Three months on, the lovers live quietly outside Paris. Alfredo's father, Giorgio Germont, asks Violetta to leave his son so that his daughter's engagement is not ruined. She agrees and writes a farewell. At Flora's party Alfredo, not knowing the reason, denounces her in front of the guests, and his father denounces him.
Act III
Violetta's bedroom
Her illness has worsened. She reads a letter telling her that Giorgio has told Alfredo the truth, and she sings Addio, del passato. Alfredo returns and they plan to leave Paris, but she knows it is too late. For a moment she feels the pain lift, and then she dies in his arms.
Check the booking page for the cast announced on your date.
The venue, in brief
The performance takes place in a Gothic Revival church on Via Nazionale. Four things are worth knowing about it before you arrive.
George Edmund Street designed it in banded brick and stone, and it was the first Protestant church raised in Rome after 1870. In Italian it is San Paolo dentro le Mura; many call it the American Church.
The mosaics are the largest works of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones. The one in the apse semi-dome, Christ Enthroned in the Heavenly Jerusalem, was completed in 1885; the church has been designated a national monument.
Sunday services run in the same nave, and the church's own site describes concerts by outside musicians as part of its week. Treat it as a place of worship that welcomes an audience.
The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is a different building, beyond the old Aurelian Walls. The concert address is the corner of Via Nazionale and Via Napoli.
Vault and apse
The nave looking towards the altar, the starred ceiling, the apse mosaic and the bell tower on Via Nazionale.
Verdi evenings, compared
| Option | What you get | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Verdi's La Traviata, in full | Verdi's complete opera in three acts, sung by soloists with a choir and orchestra in St Paul's Within the Walls. Runs around two hours; free to cancel until a day before, with pay-later reserving. | First-timers and Verdi lovers who want the whole story in a church. |
| La Traviata from a second organiser | The same opera in the same church from a different organiser, with the Orchestra I Virtuosi dell'Opera di Roma in a complete version with costumes and scenes, and a choice of seating categories. | Anyone who wants to compare dates and seat options between two booking pages. |
| Opera arias at Palazzo della Cancelleria | About an hour of celebrated opera arias in a Renaissance palace near Campo de' Fiori and Piazza Navona, with Exclusive, Prestige, VIP and Standard seats. | Anyone who wants highlights from several operas instead of one story. |
Book La Traviata in Rome
Choose the Verdi evening that suits you below, then browse the rail underneath for other bookable ideas around Rome.
Verdi's complete opera in three acts, sung by soloists with a choir and orchestra in St Paul's Within the Walls. Runs around two hours; free to cancel until a day before, with pay-later reserving.
Browse dates ↗The same opera in the same church from a different organiser, with the Orchestra I Virtuosi dell'Opera di Roma in a complete version with costumes and scenes, and a choice of seating categories.
Browse dates ↗About an hour of celebrated opera arias in a Renaissance palace near Campo de' Fiori and Piazza Navona, with Exclusive, Prestige, VIP and Standard seats.
Browse dates ↗More to book in Rome
Notes before the night
Guides to the opera, the church and the city
Which ticket, and how to choose Which La Traviata performance to book in Rome: the church, two booking pages for the same opera, seats and dates, and who the evening suits.
On to the guide →
The opera, act by act Verdi's La Traviata for a first night at the opera: what the title means, who is who, the story act by act, and the music to listen for.
On to the guide →FAQ
Around two hours, with the exact start time shown against each date in the calendar, so dinner can go on either side.
In St Paul's Within the Walls, an Episcopal church on the corner of Via Nazionale and Via Napoli. It is not the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
No. Verdi's libretto is in Italian, so the opera is sung in Italian. Reading the three-act summary beforehand makes it easy to follow.
Soloists, a choir and an orchestra. The cast can change from date to date, so treat any name you see as provisional.
Yes. Cancel a GetYourGuide booking by 24 hours before the start and it is refunded in full; you may also reserve first and pay afterwards.
The front rows give the closest view. Travellers mention that views can be limited further back, though the sound and the mosaics reach the whole nave.
No. The ticket covers the performance, so eat before or after the opera.
No. It is a first opera for many visitors. The plot is a simple love story in three acts, and the famous drinking song comes in the first act.
Quoted fares are per adult in US dollars, and the booking page shows them in your own currency.