The role of Violetta has been performed by opera's greatest sopranos. Music historian Hilary Poriss explores those famous and infamous for portraying the fallen woman from Verdi's La Traviata.

Tuesday, March 4, 7:00 p.m.
Taft Museum of Art, Luther Room
316 Pike Street, downtown
(Parking available under museum)

About Hilary Poriss
Hilary Poriss, professor of music at Northeastern University, teaches survey classes in music history, courses on opera history, film music, and a variety of other topics. She received her B.A. from Bates College and her M.M. and Ph.D. in music history from the University of Chicago. Her primary research interests are in the areas of Italian opera, performance practice, diva culture, and the aesthetics of 19th-century music and culture. She is currently writing a book titled Arias, Authorship, and the Prima Donna, which explores the practice of aria substitution in performance of bel canto opera by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and their contemporaries.