“Il trovatore was premièred in January 1853 and Traviata a couple of months later in March. The wonderful duet at the end of La traviata Act I brings to mind clearly the ‘Miserere’ from Act IV Il trovatore, and when Alfredo sings ‘Dei miei bollenti spiriti’ there is something of ‘Di quella pira’ about it [a]nd the following scene between Violetta and Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont, uses some of the ‘haunting’ music from Trovatore’s Scene 1.”

Then again, this critic finds Renée Fleming‘s Violetta reminiscent of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara.  Thus we find ourselves faced with a crucial question: might an American girl’s attempt at Verdi’s consumptive courtesan eclipse ‘Jo’ Barstow‘s definitive portrayal?  [MusicWeb International]