{"id":45313,"date":"2017-05-17T13:47:49","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T17:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=45313"},"modified":"2020-03-04T10:17:28","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T15:17:28","slug":"liszts-four-famous-operas-that-started-out-as-total-flops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/05\/17\/liszts-four-famous-operas-that-started-out-as-total-flops\/","title":{"rendered":"LISZTS | Four Famous Operas That Started Out As Flops"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the world of opera, sometimes all it takes is a second chance to go from failure to success.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ask any opera fan for a list of favourite operas, and you may well get among them La traviata, Carmen, Madama Butterfly<\/em>, and Barber of Seville<\/em>. According to the most recent statistics<\/a> from the last five seasons (2011\/12 to 2015\/16), these four operas rank #1, 3, 6, and 7 in popularity, based on the number of performances worldwide. \u00a0You\u2019ll be surprised to know that these four operas all failed miserably at their premieres. Let\u2019s take a closer look:<\/p>\n

La traviata<\/h3>\n

(#1 – 4,190 performances) It premiered at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 1853. It\u2019s said the audience objected to the soprano, who was deemed at 38 too old (!) to sing Violetta. Verdi wrote in a letter: \u201cLa traviata<\/em> last night was a failure. Was the fault mine or the singers? Time will tell.\u201d Verdi made some revisions to acts 2 and 3, and when the opera was staged in 1854, it was deemed a huge success, thanks in part to a different, younger Violetta. Ageism is nothing new! When it premiered in London in 1856, the story was considered too lurid for public consumption and the Church of England tried to stop the performances, and the Queen didn\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n