This weekend - A Trip to Italy
Saturday 13 March at Noon EST and Sunday 14 March at Noon EST

The economy may stink but that does not mean you can't take a trip to Italy! This weekend we travel to a country that has produced some of the top composers in the world - Italy! Starting this Saturday at Noon EST we give you the best classical music from Italy. Vivialdi, Verdi, Boccherini and more! We will also feature composer that are not Italian but spent time in Italy and were inspired by the coutnry to write beautiful music. Send your emails to request@beethoven.com and remember... Nicole will give you tons of historical information about Italy's greatest composers!

We continue the Beethoven fun on Saturday night at 8PM EST with Saturday Night at the Opera. During SNO, Nicole Marie presents Verdi's opera La Traviata! La traviata is an opera in three acts. It is based on the novel La dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas published in 1848. The title "La traviata" means literally The Woman Who Strayed, or perhaps more figuratively, The Fallen Woman. It was originally titled Violetta, after the main character. Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged.

The first performance of the opera, on 6 March 1853 in Venice's La Fenice, was an utter failure. The day after, Verdi wrote to his friend Muzio in what has now become perhaps his most famous letter: "La Traviata last night a failure. My fault or the singers'? Time will tell." This letter not only implies what Verdi already knew—that the singers, particularly the obese soprano who could never convincingly play a dying consumptive, had failed to "understand his music." But more importantly, this letter captures Verdi's faith that the public ultimately knows what is and is not good art and will pronounce its judgment in good time. After some revisions between 1853 and May 1854, mostly affecting Acts 2 and 3, the opera was presented again in Venice, this time at the Teatro San Benedetto. On 24 May 1856 the revised version was presented at Her Majesty's Theatre in London followed on 3 December of that year by its premiere in New York. Today, the opera has become immensely popular and it is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire. It is third on Opera America's list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America, behind only Madama Butterfly and La bohème.

The join us for Symphony Sunday at Noon EST. During Symphony Sunday Nicole Marie gives you top symphonies from the best classical composers starting Noon to 6PM EST. What do you want to hear? Send us a symphony request to request@beethoven.com  Thanks for listening to Classical Music Without the Attitude... WCCC AM 1290 Beethoven Radio!