On 30th September 2011 thirteen BBCM children attended a performance of La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Below see their reviews and our group photo by Brian Slater.

I went to see La Traviata at the Royal Opera House. This was the first time I’ve been here to see an opera. My favourite bit was Giorgio slapping the second main character Alfredo.
I thought the music was lovely, especially the loud bits. I thought Violetta’s singing was good – she sang very high, but also sometimes very low notes. I sat next to my friend Joe. And in the break I had a chocolate ice cream. I would like to go to the Opera again tomorrow!
Clem Campbell, age 5 (in August 2011)

Introduction: The house gets dark and I only see a few old photos of a young woman. I hear a sad but very beautiful music. I feel the same about the woman in the photos. What could have happened to her?
In Act One, the music is joyful, the lights are on and we see many people having fun in a party. Violetta, in a white dress full of sparkling stars, is having fun with her friends. She sings beautifully about the pleasures of life and thinks that nothing else is more valuable in life. However, all these long parties have worn Violetta out and she is ill. Alfredo is at Violetta’s party. He loves her so much and wants her to love him, too. He expresses his love for her through splendid music (‘Un di felice eterea’). I really liked James Valenti’s brilliant voice. Violetta realises that she loves him, too. She responds to Alfredo’s music with a beautiful aria (‘Ah, fors’ e lui che l’anima’). Alfredo asks Violetta to live a more quiet life with him.
In Act Two, Violetta lives with Alfredo. Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father does not like her and asks her to leave Alfredo. He thinks that people like her cannot love others more than simply having fun. That is why they change friends all the time. We saw that the power of love and music could change Violetta but Giorgio cannot see this. He was very strict with Violetta and would not try to understand her feelings. Giorgio (Leo Nucci) was an excellent singer but I would not like my father to be as strict and harsh as him. In a very powerful melody (‘Amami Alfredo’) Violetta asks Alfredo to love her and she leaves him without telling him why. Alfredo gets angry when he finds Violetta in a colourful party with gypsy dancers. I loved the colourful costumes, the dance and the luxurious big hall. But I was sad to see Alfredo hurting Violetta’s feelings. She was so upset that she fell ill.
In Act three Violetta is in her bedroom seriously ill. The orchestra plays the same sad tune that we heard in the introduction. Alfredo now knows why Violetta left him and comes with his father to ask for forgiveness. Violetta wants to live but she cannot. Once, Alfredo’s inspired music transformed her and showed her how beautiful the world of real love is. Now there is only sad music taking her to another world. She dies very soon. Violetta is not with us any longer. We only have the music of her love of Alfredo and the music of her sad death as a reminder, pretty much like the photos we saw in the introduction.
I now know how much music can change our lives. We don’t know where it comes from or where it will take us to, but it reveals to us parts of ourselves, our world and beyond.
Angelos Terizakis, age 5 (with help from his father)

This time around going to the Royal Opera House was my second visit as my first was to see Peter Grimes. I really enjoyed Peter Grimes, so was looking forward to seeing this show as well. As with Peter Grimes, my mum showed me some of the production on you-tube. The scene that really stood out for me on you-tube was the one which was filled with flowers as to me it looked like Violetta was in heaven. When we arrived at the opera house I remembered just how lovely it was and felt like I was very close to the stage as we were sat right at the front again. There was a part in the show where Alfredo hit Violetta and she fell onto the floor. This made me sad as I don’t like violence but I could see that Alfredo was very angry although I am not totally sure why. I also felt sad at the end when Violetta died because she was very young and pretty. The music in the show was full of all different sounds, some were loud and others quiet. This reminded me of being at my music lessons because sometimes we practice high and low sounds. Violetta’s voice was beautiful as was Alfredo’s. I like them very much.
Sonny McGuinness, age 6

The story is about a lady called Violetta who is a party lady and everyone wanted to love her but she didn’t let them. Then one night Violetta spoke to a man called Afredo, who said he loved her and this time she said yes. They were at a big party and I recognised the music. Alfredo and Violetta took it in turns to sing and then they sang together. The song was like a dance, it went up and down, and all the other people at the party joined in the chorus with the whole orchestra.
So then they lived together. Later, Alfredo found out Violetta was selling her jewels for money and he said stop doing this, I will get some money from the town. Soon Alfredo’s father came and he told Violetta she must leave Alfredo and she was so upset.
When Alfredo saw Violetta had gone to a party, he was really angry because he thought she just didn’t love him so he went to the party and threw his money on the floor at her feet. He sang a solo where he was very angry but there was a lot of laughter from the others.
At the end the music was very sad, Violetta was dying and she and Alfredo sang together in a slow duet and I could hear a flute. There were two doctors trying to save her. When Alfredo kissed her, she lay down dead.
Joseph Teague, age 6

La Traviata is an opera in three parts. It is by Giuseppe Verdi. It is taken from the novel called ‘Lady of the Camelias’ by Alexandre Dumas. Camelias is a beautiful flower. It was originally called ‘Violetta’ after the main character. The opera was shown on 6 March 1853 in Venice, and in London and New York in 1856. Today the opera is one of the most popular in the world. The story is about a woman that got sick and died, and she had a boyfriend. The woman was like a flower. She was born like a flower which she was given by her boyfriend, but like a flower she got a disease and at the end she dies. The singer in the opera was beautiful, and she wore a long dress like wedding dress. The orchestra was very good especially the violins and the cello.
Hector Dizenzo, age 7

When I went to La Traviata I thought the big party and all the decorations were very good. The costumes and butlers looked nice and the music was just right. It was grand and exciting.
The songs were very good, but it was also annoying because it was all in Italian and you had to keep on looking up to the big board with the writing on to see what it meant in English.
The songs and actions were amazing but the story line is hard to follow if you’re young.
In the first scene it was hard to work out who was who but I managed to work it out throughout the opera.
I wish they had shown us the duel when Alfredo takes on the Baron!
The end was a bit scary when she was coughing out blood and when she jumped up and ran around the room because she thought she was back alive and then she gave Alfredo a big hug and then she died suddenly in his arms.
P.S. I liked Peter Grimes better – I preferred the story.
Asa Campbell, age 7

On Friday 30th September I went with some other people from my music class to see La Traviata at the Royal Opera House. The story of the opera is like a mixture of Don Pasquale and Peter Grimes. In both La Traviata and Don Pasquale lovers fight to be with the one they love but unlike Don Pasquale which has a happy ending La Traviata ends with death and tragedy like in Peter Grimes.
Before going to see La Traviata I watched a DVD of La Traviata also at the Royal Opera House with Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta and Frank Lopardo as Alfredo. I preferred Angela's singing to Marina Poplavskaya who played Violetta on Friday but I thought that James Valenti who played Alfredo at the performance had a warmer voice than Frank Lopardo on the DVD.
I learnt about how people dressed in Paris in 1840 by watching the opera. I think clothes were smarter in those days. Verdi's music is full of beautiful songs that can make you laugh and cry.
Miles Camilleri, age 7

On 30 September 2011 I was a part of a group of children from the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship (BBCM) that went to the Royal Opera House with our teacher Agnes to see Verdi’s La Traviata (the Wayward One).
The story starts in Violetta’s house in Paris. It is a joyful scene with dancing and singing and a fabulous fountain of champagne. Violetta wears a beautiful white gown and the other ladies’ dresses twirl round the dance floor as the music flows and the men’s tailcoats sway to the rhythm. The music is lively and soaring.
Violetta meets Alfredo who tells her how lovely she is and that he loves her. Violetta and Alfredo sing a beautiful and touching duet and it seems as if Violetta is falling in love. The party ends and the guests leave in high spirit.
The next scene is in a house in the countryside where Violetta and Alfredo have gone to live a peaceful life together. Alfredo goes away to try to stop Violetta selling her property in Paris. While he is away Alfredo’s father Giorgio goes to see Violetta to ask her to break up with Alfredo because she is known to be a bad woman and Alfredo’s sister cannot get married unless they break up. Violetta is heartbroken at the idea and beautifully sings that she has repented. She then tells Giorgio of her illness but he insists that she do as he asks. Violetta sadly agrees to part with Alfredo and writes him a letter to say that she is going back to Paris.
The next scene takes place in Paris at Flora’s party which is colourful and alive with gypsy dancers and gamblers. Violetta wears a black mournful gown. Alfredo begs her to come back with him but she tells him she is in love with the Baron. Alfredo is very upset and throws money at her in front of the guests saying that he is repaying her. The guests are outraged by his behaviour and they show that they are very cross with Alfredo. Violetta is exhausted and collapses.
The final scene is in Violetta’s bedroom which is dark and miserable. Violetta looks very pale and weak and wears a white nightgown probably pointing to a new life in heaven. The music is in the minor keys and very sad sounding. Alfredo bursts in after he has discovered the truth about Violetta and hopes that they can start again. Violetta wants them to go to church to thank God for Alfredo coming back to her. Violetta asks to get dressed but cannot manage to do so and they sing a touching duet where Alfredo pleads for her to hang on. Violetta suddenly gets a burst of energy and seems stronger but then she collapses in Alfredo’s arms and it is too late.
Violetta is dead.
I loved this opera – the beautiful singing, dancing and story brought tears to my eyes. Violetta sang with a lot of feeling when she was happy and sad and her voice was beautiful but I really liked Alfredo’s rich and powerful voice.
I would encourage my friends to see it.
Sophie Chin, age 8

Last week we went to see the opera La Traviata in the Royal Opera House. I was sitting in the second row and I could see the stage really well.
I really liked the costumes that the actors and actresses were wearing. Violetta’s dresses were the most beautiful, colourful and sparkling, because she is the main character of the opera.
The opera starts in Violetta’s beautiful house, with her friends coming through the double doors of the house, to her party. In the middle of the grand room there was a statue. The music imitates the steps of the people as they are coming through the door. The music was really happy as the guests were greeting each other. During the party Violetta was singing a very happy song; and while she was singing, glitter was falling on to the stage. This was my favourite scene of the opera. While singing her song, Violetta suddenly became unwell, and she sent the guests out of the room, to dance. While the guests were dancing to dance music, Alfredo stayed behind with Violetta. He asked her to look after herself and to get better. You could see that Alfredo loved Violetta very much. After this Violetta called back the guests and she started singing a song on her own while walking around the stage. The song was about love and about loving Alfredo.
The second act is happening in Violetta’s country house, near Paris. Alfredo found out that Violetta had been selling her horses and other valuables to pay for the house where they live. Once he finds this out, Alfredo gets very upset and goes to Paris to get some money. While Alfredo is away, his father, Germont visits Violetta. He says to her: “Don’t be with Alfredo, because you are ruining his good name.” Violetta does not want to agree, but he says: “You have to!” They are arguing about it, but at the end Violetta agrees and spreads her arms. When Alfredo comes back she pretends that she had not seen his father. She leaves the house afterwards. After Violetta has left the house Alfredo receives her goodbye letter. His father returns and tries to confront him, but he does not tell him that he made Violetta leave Alfredo. Alfredo is very upset.
In the next scene we are in Flora’s house in Paris. Flora is Violette’s friend. There is a party. The music is really joyful, fast and light. All the guests are dressed up in Spanish costumes. Some bullfighters come in and dance on the tables. Alfredo is also at the party. He is gambling, playing cards. He wins a lot of money. Once he sees Violetta with her old boyfriend he starts to make trouble.
While Flora calls away the guests Violetta asks Alfredo to leave. She pretends that she loves the Baron instead of Alfredo. Alfredo is rude to her and Violetta collapses onto the floor. Everyone blames Alfredo, even his own father. Meanwhile Violetta sings a song very gently and sadly about how much she loved Alfredo.
The third act is happening in Violetta’s bedroom. She is already very sick. Her servant gets her ready for the doctor. Violetta refuses the doctor’s treatment because she does not think that Alfredo will return. The music is very gentle, quiet and sad. Violetta is dying and she thinks that she will not see Alfredo ever again. But Alfredo arrives and Violetta becomes better. The music becomes happier and louder. Violetta starts walking around the room in her happiness. The doctor and Alfredo’s father arrive. Suddenly Violetta collapses and dies. The music becomes very sad once again.
It was a great opera, I really liked it. What I didn’t like about it was that Violetta died at the end.
Abigail Aradi-Posylkin, age 8

I was very excited to attend my first opera at Convent Garden Opera House. It was a school matinee on the 30th of September and the Opera was called La Traviata. La Traviata was directed by Richard Eyre and the conductor was Jan Latham-Koenig
Act I
A courtesan lady called Violetta is having a party to celebrate her recovery from illness. The stage is set like a beautiful room with elegant furniture and sculpture and the singers and actors are dressed in period costume.
Violetta is introduced to Alfredo and they sing together a song "the Brindisi" celebrating love and wine and pleasure. It was a happy uplifting song and it captured the mood of a party. She gives him a flower and tells him to come back when it has faded.
Act 2 Scene 1
Violetta and Alfredo are living happily together in the countryside. Then Violetta has an unexpected visit from Alfredo's father Germont asking her to give up Alfredo.
The happy mood of the opera changes at this point to sadness and the music becomes more sad and heavy too. Violetta agrees in the end to give up Alfredo although she loves him.
She writes Alfredo a farewell letter and leaves for a friend’s party in Paris. Alfredo returns and is very sad when he finds the letter.
Scene 2
This starts with a party scene. I liked where the gipsy girls were dancing on the table. Alfredo gets very angry when he thinks Violetta has gone back to her old life and he throws all the money he won at her feet. Alfredo's father sees this happen and is angry with his son.
Act 3
In the final act Violetta is ill in bed and then she wakes up and the maid gets the doctor and he can’t do anything for her. Alfredo arrives and begs her forgiveness and they plan a new life together. Alfredo's father Germont arrives and begs forgiveness too. The opera ends with Violetta dying in Alfredo's arms.
It was a very sad and dramatic ending to a very dramatic story. The music and singing here was very strong and beautiful and sad and also at times very sweet and other worldly.
The opera wasn't long enough for me but at the same time I didn't want to watch any more. I did enjoy the experience a lot and would like to go again to an opera. A big thank you to Agnes, my teacher, for all her work organising this trip for our music class.
Aaron Esler, 9 (Aaron turned 9 on 30th September 2011, the day of this Traviata performance)

What I love is coming in and seeing the big huge velvet curtains and all the lights shining in the Royal Opera House. The opera La Traviata is by Verdi and is about a lady called Violetta who has parties every night. The conductor was Jan Latham-Koenig, the director was Richard Eyre, and this was the schools’ matinee performance.
The first scene was a very lavish party with many guests and beautiful costumes. The music was very joyful with lots of violins and some percussion. Everyone was having fun drinking and singing – the drinking song is one of the most famous songs in the opera. Alfredo and Violetta fall in love.
The next scene was placed in Alfredo and Violetta’s living room and Alfredo was getting ready to go to Paris because he didn’t want Violetta selling her jewels. When he left, his father came and told Violetta to leave Alfredo but she begged to stay – their duet really reflected this, with her part sounding sad and desperate, very different to Alfredo’s father who sounded serious and constant.
The next scene I loved the most, it was another huge party, where the set was all rosy red colours and Violetta had on a big black dress. She had left Alfredo. But Alfredo came to the party and he was so angry to see her there that he threw lots of money he had won from the Baron at Violetta’s feet. The way he sang sounded like he hated her and she fell down in despair, her singing was soft and upset. The music was dramatic.
In the last scene Violetta is dying and her maid is very worried about her, she was trying to get her to go to bed. Violetta’s singing sounded quite weak as she was so ill. Then Alfredo arrived and they sang a duet together for the last time. The duet was happy because they were together again and they repeated each other as if they were imagining life together again, but it was also very sad: the music was soft, sweet and sad. I thought it was a bit strange as one moment Violetta seemed to be almost dead and then she kept coming back to life to sing once more. Eventually she fell into Alfredo’s arms and died. The music was very quiet, the violins and cellos sounding softer and softer until the end.
Molly Teague, age 9

We saw the opera La Traviata in the Royal Opera House. The opera was written by Verdi.
The story is about a young woman dying of tuberculosis. Even though the story is very sad, the opera is really special and colourful. In each scene there was something special, like glitter falling from the sky in the first, dancing on the table at Flora’s house or the shadow of the carnival outside in the last act.
La Traviata was a fantastic opera; not only the stage performance, but also the music. I really liked the music in Flora’s party, where the guests were gambling and pretending to be gypsies and dancing on the gambling table. The rhythm of the music was very fast.
The end of the opera is very sad, because the main character, Violetta dies.
I really enjoyed the opera and would go and see it again.
Adam Aradi-Posylkin, age 11

On Friday 30th September 2011, the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship went on an outing to see the famous opera, La Traviata!
I arrived outside the opera house at 11.00 am eager to see the world-famous opera. By 11:30 am, we were walking into the opera house, adrenaline pumping through my body hardly being able to contain my excitement. I was finally ready, pen and note pad in my hand, nothing else to do. 3, 2, 1 ... Lights out!
The beginning of the opera began with some fantastically played music from the orchestra, it really set the mood. Act 1 was set in Paris at Violetta’s glamorous party in her beautifully large house. She invited many of her friends for a drink and dance to cheer her up as secretly she was dying from tuberculosis (T.B for short). As the party draws to a close the music begins to change slightly getting us ready for some sort of climax. When everyone has left the party one person, Violetta’s friend Alfredo, stays. During this time he tells Violetta that he has loved her unconditionally for a year. Confused, Violetta tells him she doesn’t feel the same way so Alfredo leaves, leaving Violetta wallowing in her choice.
Act 2 begins with some cheerful music portraying that something good has gone on; to our surprise we find Alfredo and Violetta living together, Violetta has walked away from her lavish lifestyle and Alfredo is genuinely happy. Unfortunately, their happiness would not last, as Alfredo finds out they must pay the landlord 1000 Louis or be evicted. Unsure what to do, he sets off to the city with hope in his heart that he may find the money. Oblivious to the situation, Violetta comes into the kitchen and sits down at the table humbly waiting for a business man to come so they could have their meeting. When the door bell rings she is adamant than it was the business man, to her surprise it was Alfredo’s father begging Violetta to leave Alfredo so he can come back home. Reluctantly, after a lot of dictation from Alfredo’s father, she decides to do it. To make sure that Alfredo will not follow her she sends him a letter saying that she no longer loves him. Later in the act, Alfredo and Violetta go to their friend’s party and meet each other. Violetta tells Alfredo that one day he will understand and it ends.
Act 3 is where we find Violetta on the deathbed barely being able to breathe. During this time the doctor comes to reassure her that she may still make it, really she only has a few hours to live. In her final hour, Alfredo comes to comfort her and she tells him that he never stopped loving him; she did it for his father. At this point, Alfredo’s father fulfills his promise and embraces Violetta as his own. He is consumed with guilt as he never actually thought that she was dying literally but only of love. Suddenly, Violetta begins to get very weak and falls onto Alfredo arms. Amazingly, Violetta feels all her energy come back to her, runs around the room and then dies.
All in all, I thought La Traviata was a fantastic opera and I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to go and see it.
P.S. Overall, the best thing about the opera was the music. It was 5 stars.
Joshua Leonce-Weekes, age 11