In Pretty Woman, Edward takes Vivian to see La traviata.
The opera is an important early turning point in the 1990 film. Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman played by Richard Gere, brings Vivian Ward, played by Julia Roberts, to the San Francisco Opera. Vivian is initially unfamiliar with opera, but she becomes deeply moved by the performance, especially by the drama and emotion of the music.
La traviata is an 1853 opera by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Its central character, Violetta Valéry, is a courtesan whose love story ends tragically. The opera’s themes of love, sacrifice and social judgment echo the developing relationship between Edward and Vivian.
The scene is sometimes remembered simply as an opera date, but the specific production is La traviata. The film helped make the scene one of the best-known opera moments in modern romantic-comedy cinema. It also introduced many viewers to Verdi’s famous work.