La Traviata Without Tissues... 

We all have those classics that we occasionally - or frequently - return to. Whether its that particular album by your favourite band, or that movie you could completely reenact on your own. They're heartwarming, hold so many memories, and you know they'll never fail you.
The world of opera has similar classics. Apart from the ABC - Aida, La Bohème, and Carmen - there's La Traviata. 

The opera house in Oslo  is not just an architectural attraction, let me tell you that. Den Norske Opera presented a very modern and visually rich version of La Traviata. It kinda seemed straight out of Mad Men to be honest, with a touch of Harlem Shake (not even kidding, there was a horse mask on stage), which I thought brought a fresh twist to this extremely popular opera that is typically set in the 1840's. Although the set is minimalist, the human drama of Verdi's opera is very present, in all its depravity.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the story of  La Traviata, imagine a young party girl, named Violetta, who goes out every nights and has multiple partners. However, she falls in love with a man. Alfredo, and tries to put her past life behind her and live happily ever after. But that would make for a pretty boring - and short - opera. So this man's father comes into the picture and tells Violetta to leave Alfredo because their relation ruins any chance for a good marriage for his daughter (he's old school). Violetta is convinced, leaves Alfredo, and goes back to her old habits. But the issue is that Violetta is actually dying from tuberculosis, which is kinda the equivalent of aids today. I'm trying realy hard not to give any spoilers here, but opera being opera, you can probably guess the rest.  

FYI...

So I didn't learn my lesson from the Oslo OperaBall (you can read all about it here), and figured I could buy my tickets last minute. WRONG!!! These classics sell mad fast, so you have to get your tickets as soon as possible if you want to go! Not kidding! 
Again, I got crazy lucky. I had previously met one of the choristers, Rolf Conrad,  at the Underwater Pub on one of their opera nights and he was able to get me a pair of tickets for the performance on the 25th. Plus, he offered to give me a private backstage tour! So from now on, we all L-O-V-E Rolf.