Sonya Yoncheva brings her acclaimed interpretation of the doomed courtesan Violetta Valéry to Live in HD audiences for the first time, opposite rising American tenor Michael Fabiano as her lover, Alfredo. Thomas Hampson sings one of his most acclaimed Met roles as Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s disapproving father, in a revival of Willy Decker’s staging conducted by San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti.

After her big successes on the New York stage as Mimi, Gilda and Desdemona, once again Sonya Yoncheva plays a tragic opera heroine. Violetta Valéry is considered a top role for every soprano, due to its inexhaustible vocal and dramatic possibilities. The young Bulgarian opera star moves the audience with the depth and unaffectedness of her interpretation and she does not shy away from being open and sincere. Wolfgang Gussmann’s stylized set design brings additional challenges to the chorus and the leading singers in La Traviata.

Sonya Yoncheva joins the short list of great Violettas at the Met.

James Jorden, Observer