La Traviata: Brindisi

This drinking song from Verdi's opera about a Parisian courtesan is one of the most socially irresistible pieces he ever wrote. Two voices — soprano and tenor — alternate verses of toast and response, the orchestra bouncing beneath them in a lilting triple-time that makes standing still feel impossible. Verdi understood exactly what this moment needed: spectacle, pleasure, the collective warmth of a party at its peak. The melody is deliberately simple, almost folk-like, designed to be remembered instantly and sung louder with each chorus. Underneath the celebration, though, lies Verdi's characteristic undercurrent — this is a party scene in a tragedy, and the brightness feels slightly feverish. The brindisi belongs to opera's great populist tradition: music that reaches across the footlights and pulls the audience in. It is essentially a communal act, requiring a crowd to fulfill its purpose. It sounds best when it sounds inevitable.