“Surprises—or let’s say pleasant surprises—are among the chief joys of frequent opera-going. Best, and most  precious, of all these impromptu delights is the eagerly anticipated performance  that soars beyond even one’s most extravagant fantasies. That’s what happened  when Sonya Yoncheva sang her first Met La Traviata last Wednesday: I  expected something lovely, but what I beheld was nothing short of magnificent.” [New York Observer]