The Camellias Ballet

Variations of the novel The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils have taken many forms such as being acted out through dance in a ballet and performed in the opera La Traviata. Although telling similar stories of heroine Marguerite Gautier and her lover Armand Duval, the artistic vision portrays different tones of these characters through emotion and stage performance. The ballet and opera remain to the original text through the display of affection between Armand and Marguerite, however, differences include how the characters are represented by their actions toward one another and atmosphere. In the original text Lady of the Camellias, there are technically four narrators that include points of view from Armand, Marguerite, Julie
Duprat, and the unnamed narrator. The story begins with the narrator, who remains unnamed, purchasing the book Manon Lescaut from an auction after Marguerite’s death. Inside of the Manon Lescuat there was a dedication for Armand. Armand discovers that this book is in someone else’s hands and bought it from the narrator and justifies his love for Marguerite. “They always say she was very much in love with him, but as girls that are in love. It is no good to ask them for what they can not give” (Dumas 43). When Armand becomes sick from moving Marguerite after her death is when he tells the narrator of their story. The book portrays Armand as almost foolish and stuck in the puppy love phase for Marguerite. Marguerites character throughout the book was seen as very ill, however still well enough to attend parties. The opera, La Traviata by Guiseppe Verdi, was based on Dumas’ novel.
In this opera Violetta Valery is Marguerite and Alfredo Germont is Armand. Violetta’s stage wardrobe is almost scandalous as she is dressed in a red dress with a white camellia. The red dress that Violetta models describes her character as bold and more in the spotlight. The white camellia represents the pureness of Violetta. While watching the Libiamo scene, Violetta is obviously flaunting her wealthy feature. Violetta is loving the attention from the background dancers while Alfredo is trying to serenade her with his love. La Traviata is more fast paced, compared to the ballet which is more graceful and
delicate. In the ballet, on the other hand compared to La Traviata and the original text, portrays The Lady of the Camellias in a different way. Compared to Violetta in La Traviata who is portrayed as more of a prostitute, the character of Marguerite from the ballet does not have the feeling of a prostitute but more of a woman who is in love. Marguerite’s costume in the ballet is white, compared to red. Marguerite and Armand are mainly on stage as a duo while in the Libiamo scene from the opera Violetta is surrounded by a sizable amount of men. Armand is so madly in love with Marguerite that he is literally on his knees for her to show the amount of love he has. In this ballet, there is more of love being portrayed then lust. Artem Ovcharenko describes one scene where “Marguerite is lifted so effortlessly so that you have the feeling that this youth, could carry you through this world so that she feels the hands of a strong person who could save her” (Bolishi Ballet). The whore with the heart of gold characteristic is present here. The dancers from the ballet are more passionate and show more empathy while telling the story of Marguerite and Armand.
However, between the opera, ballet, and original text there could be an appeal to different audience types. For example, the ballet would cater more to audiences who prefer watching a story being acted out by body language and grace. While delicate and expressive, the ballet shows more of a passionate side of Lady of the Camellias. In an opera, views are prepared to watch thrilling, exciting, emotional, singers who express the Lady of the Camellias through more of a theatrical presence. Director preference could have a role in this as well accommodating to the appropriate
audience. The amount of passion and emotion in the ballet really reveals the artistic vision of the director based on the original text by Alexandre Dumas. In the opera, it follows the original story quite well, portraying Marguerite more of as a prostitute. On the contrary, the ballet focuses more on the emotion and love aspect between