La Traviata.
I spent at least two and a half minutes pondering as to why trio of owners would elect to name their $1.1 million filly La Traviata. I was fairly certain that it was the name of a famous opera, however, my expertise in opera consists solely of Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, performed by Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in "What's Opera, Doc?"
So, in an effort to acquaint horseplayers with fine arts, I shall share with you a brief synopsis of the Giuseppe Verdi's opera, La Traviata ...
A consumptive courtesan who initially resists the love of a suitor, eventually falls in love with him but because of meddling family members, breaks off the relationship, gets publicly insulted by her former love, then in turn, professes her love to Patrick Biancone and goes on to win the Victory Ride by 9 lengths that, tragically in the end, pays a paltry $5.80 for the Daily Double with Street Sense.
3 comments:
We're opera geeks in our household, and the question here was, 'why that one? Why not Nixon in China?'
But like I said, we're weird.
The image of Nixon in tights and singing an aria is more than mere mortals can withstand. Even Warner Brothers couldn't have cooked up an idea like that. The opera "Nixon in China" has left us with new catchphrases for the millenium, such as "Who, who, who, who are our enemies? Who, who, who, who are our friends?"
Sue, your post did inspire me, because I've been humming "kill de wabbit" all the while I was typing this....
Response to my husband who voiced a smart-alec editorial remark this morning:
The phrase "consumptive courtesan" was used because, in my quest for brevity, was more concise than "a high priced kept woman who offers certain pleasantries to a man she is not married to while suffering from a serious case of tuberculosis."
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