La Traviata

You don't have to be an expert in opera to appreciate this version of La Traviata. As one of the most popular operas you may already be familiar with the story of a woman gone astray. If not, being an opera, you can probably figure it our easily enough.

Tenor Rolando Villazon is excellent as Alfredo but the star of any production of La Traviata is the part of Violetta. Violetta is a role that sopranos are measured by and here Renee Fleming shines through. Beautiful and engaging, her performances of Ah, fors e lui and Sempre libera closing the first act of will leave you breathless. Comparing her performance to Callas, Sutherland, Angela Gheorghiu and others, she rates up there with the best.

Sung in Italian with subtitles in English and 5 other languages, this is an entertaining 144 minutes for newcomers to opera as well as veterans.