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The Sound of Opera

Che è ciò? (Banda - Part 1)

Music is heard from the adjacent room and Violetta invites the guests to move there to dance. Suddenly Violetta almost faints and tells the guests she will join them when she recovers. Left alone, Violetta looks at her pale face in the mirror. Alfredo returns as he is concerned about her health and confesses he has been in love with her for a year.

This part of the score is supposed to be played by the "banda interna", which is an on-stage band. Verdi did not make an orchestration but provided a score in the style of a piano-reduction and left the actual realization to the person in charge of the band. This means that over the years many versions were created, varying from theater to theater depending on the instruments available, but none of them is authoritative. For this video I chose to use a version that is played by the pit orchestra in case an on-stage band is lacking. Not only did this have the advantage that I could use the same orchestral template as for the rest of the opera, but also that it blends in better with the overall sound of the other videos.

  • Violetta
  • Flora
  • Alfredo
  • Gastone
  • Barone
  • Dottore
  • Marchese
  • Soprani
  • Tenors
  • Basses