Which Italian opera composer wrote 'La Traviata'?

Giuseppe Verdi wrote La traviata, one of the most frequently performed operas in the repertoire.

Verdi composed the opera to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Its story centers on Violetta Valéry, a Parisian courtesan who falls in love with Alfredo Germont but faces pressure from his family and society. The plot was adapted from La Dame aux camélias, a play by Alexandre Dumas fils, which itself grew from Dumas’s 1848 novel.

La traviata premiered at La Fenice in Venice on 6 March 1853. Verdi and Piave wanted a contemporary setting, but Venetian authorities required the action to be moved into the past. Later productions restored the modern setting Verdi had originally intended, helping audiences see the opera’s social criticism more directly.

The title La traviata means “the fallen woman,” referring to Violetta’s marginal position in respectable society. The opera is especially famous for its demanding soprano role, its drinking song “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici,” and the emotional father-son confrontation involving Giorgio Germont. It is sometimes confused with operas by Puccini, Donizetti, or Rossini, but this work belongs to Verdi’s mature career.