“Italian opera has never been more popular. It has also never been in greater need of Italian voices. No matter how good the alternatives, a home-grown voice, properly schooled, transforms the sound of Verdi. It is not just the diction or timbre. It is the tradition . . . . Nicholas Hytner’s staging … remains earthbound. Why is it that successive National Theatre directors, upon entering the Royal Opera House, automatically capitulate to operatic convention?” [Financial Times]