If you buy the season package for the Family Circle, it's quite affordable (~$20 each), and the sound is excellent there. The key is to sit in the middle and not off in the wings.

I feel in love withe Salzburg production on DVD (with Netrebko & Villazon) so I couldn't help but compare. I really like the production. Although the omniscient doctor figure does get a bit repetitive, the rest of it works so well.

The singing started off weak. Sempre Libra was disappointing. I've noticed this as a rule - in the first 1/3 of each opera, the singers take their time warming up, and their voices are much better by the end. In this one, Ms. Poplavskaya struggled with the 1st half of Act 1; her voice sounded heavy and out of breath, I was very worried and disappointed. But as soon as she was alone, she sang beautifully. Really really well. She hit the top notes with more ease and clarity than Netrebko, although she doesn't have the same physical grace & sensuality. Her voice does have a similar darkness. By the time of intermission, I entirely entranced.

Alfredo (Matthew Polenzani) was serviceable but not exceptional. Sempre Libra was weak, and his physical acting confused me - he seemed so distant, although his singing was very good in the last 2 acts.

Germont (Andrzej Dobber) was absolutely outstanding. His phrases were expressed with real emotion, warmth and concern. Much better than Thomas Hampson on the DVD, where he came across cold.

The final test was Addio del Passato - my favorite aria, ever (as sung by Netrebko), and I expected to be disappointed, but I wasn't, which is saying quite a bit. It's probably well suited to the kind of voices both Netrebko and Poplavskaya have.

In the DVD, my favorite scene is in Act 2, when Violetta asks Alfredo, "You love me, right?" and her voice nearly dissolved into sobs. Netrebko is excellent there. So that scene wasn't as good live. But there was one moment in the live performance that really jumped out at me - at the very end when Poplavskaya says, "Call the doctor. Tell him I want to live" - that was so well delivered and poignant, I started crying.

Overall, it was a tremendous performance. Poplavskaya and Dobber were fantastic, the music is gorgeous, the production is striking. It's really a perfect opera - short, melodic, romantic, passionate. Afterwards, you could tell everyone loved it - the happiness in the people leaving the theatre was palpable.

Next up this year for me: Don Pasquale with Anna Netrebko. Go see this if you can, she has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard.

What else are you planning to see this year?