The Real Traviata by Ren Weis
The story of Marie Duplessis, the woman who inspired Verdi's La traviata. A rags-to-riches fairytale, from rural poverty to Parisian stardom, which ended in tragedy but gave rise to some of the most heart-wrenching and lyrical music ever composed.
Weis traces his protagonist's short but event-filled life - she died at the age of 23 - in painstaking detailHe also offers new insights into the genesis of Alexandre Dumas's fictionalised accounts of her life and of Verdi's opera. This book will intrigue fans of La traviata, but its broader account of the treatment of women in early 19th-century France deserves a wider readership. * Alexandra Wilson, BBC Music Magazine *
Impeccably researched and astutely observed, Weis's book sifts through facts and myth, and conjures up the texture of life in 19th-century Paris, with its many flâneurs, boulevards and cafés. Bravo. * Juanita Coulson, The Lady *
[An] immensely detailed biography ... impeccably researched ... an entertaining and informative account. * Susan Elkin, Ink Pellet *
The author pieces together exhaustively the details of the courtesan's life which history and literature have failed to do. * Rebecca Ruiz, Ópera Actual (translated from Spanish) *
This diligently researched book casts an astutely observant light upon [Duplessis's] memory and myth. * Aisté Anusaité, Londonieté *
The detailed and well-researched book plots the life of this remarkable woman and the extraordinary life she led in Paris in the early 19th-century. With 24 pages of detailed end-notes and a timeline of her life, René Weis successfully combines scholarly research with telling a good story. * Andrew Benson-Wilson, Early Music Reviews *
Weis has done a superior job of not only presenting the rags-to-riches story of Duplessis, but also of illuminating the distinct social issues at play that coalesced to create the platform for Verdi's famed masterwork. * John Aiello, Electric Review *
Impeccably researched and astutely observed, Weis's book sifts through facts and myth, and conjures up the texture of life in 19th-century Paris, with its many flâneurs, boulevards and cafés. Bravo. * Juanita Coulson, The Lady *
[An] immensely detailed biography ... impeccably researched ... an entertaining and informative account. * Susan Elkin, Ink Pellet *
The author pieces together exhaustively the details of the courtesan's life which history and literature have failed to do. * Rebecca Ruiz, Ópera Actual (translated from Spanish) *
This diligently researched book casts an astutely observant light upon [Duplessis's] memory and myth. * Aisté Anusaité, Londonieté *
The detailed and well-researched book plots the life of this remarkable woman and the extraordinary life she led in Paris in the early 19th-century. With 24 pages of detailed end-notes and a timeline of her life, René Weis successfully combines scholarly research with telling a good story. * Andrew Benson-Wilson, Early Music Reviews *
Weis has done a superior job of not only presenting the rags-to-riches story of Duplessis, but also of illuminating the distinct social issues at play that coalesced to create the platform for Verdi's famed masterwork. * John Aiello, Electric Review *
René Weis is a freelance author and Professor of English at University College London. He has a written on a wide variety of subjects, including Edith Thompson (of the infamous 'Thompson and Bywaters' murder case in the 1920s), the last Cathar insurgency in the Pyrenees in the Middle Ages, and a biography of Shakespeare. As a professional Shakespearian, he has published extensively on Shakespeare and Renaissance drama, his publications including editions of Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Henry IV Part 2, and an Oxford World's Classics edition of the works of John Webster. A lifelong lover of opera, he also contributes regular pieces to the programmes for Royal Opera House productions.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780198828297 |
| ISBN 10 | 0198828292 |
| Title | The Real Traviata |
| Author | Ren Weis |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Year published | 2019-01-21 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |