La Traviata (2006)

This superb 2006 production of the Los Angeles Operas La Traviata stars Renée Fleming who joins the ranks of the elite handful of sopranos whose vocal and acting talents make their portrayals memorable Her Violetta Valéry is a vulnerable figure torn between selfindulgence and love sacrificing personal happiness to become a victim of the social mores of mid19thcentury bourgeois France Flemings acting captures the complexity of the character and her vocalism is flawless She negotiates the wild coloratura of Act One with aplomb and is stunning in the lyric passages that pervade the opera and touching in her scenes with her lover Alfredo and his father Her singing is free of the mannerisms that have sometimes crept into her work and at the same time she brings countless personal touches to the role phrasing and verbal emphases that shed fresh light on the character