La traviata (The Fallen Woman) by Giuseppe Verdi is based on a play adapted from the 1848 novel by Alexandre Dumas. The opera was originally titled Violetta, after the main character.

Alfredo Germont has adored society courtesan Violetta Valéry from afar – for over a year – and had often enquired after her health as she lay ill during that time. At a party she hosts he gives a toast – a rousing drinking song – but Violetta is then overcome by a fainting fit. Alfredo stays with her, offering to protect her as her lover. Violetta laughs off his passionate declarations; she must be free to enjoy herself, although she does admit to herself that Alfredo has stirred her feelings.

Realising they do indeed love each other, Violetta and Alfredo leave Paris for the countryside but their happiness is short-lived. Alfredo’s father, Germont, arrives unexpectedly, asking Violetta to leave his son and so spare the family the shame of this connection with a courtesan. She agrees, asking only that, one day, Germont reveals her sacrifice to Alfredo.

Violetta returns to her old life in Paris and a liaison with her former lover, Baron Douphol. Alfredo encounters them at a party and tensions rise. In the final act, Violetta is dying of consumption. Alfredo now knows of her sacrifice and arrives to beg her forgiveness. Caught in the moment, the lovers plan a happy future together. But Violetta’s new-found strength is fleeting; she suddenly collapses and dies.