The keystone of any production of Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ is the choice of the soprano to play the tender-hearted courtesan and doomed heroine Violetta Valéry. At the Sferisterio Opera Festival in the central Italian city of Macerata, the choice fell upon Mariella Devia – and it couldn’t have been more ideal for Massimo Gasparon’s stately production. The press was unanimous in acclaiming the ‘exhilarating’ (L’Opinione), ‘incomparable’ (Liberonews. it) singer, who ‘towers over the cast’ and is a ‘worthy representative of the great school of Italian singing’ (ForumOpera.com). A frequent and much-acclaimed Violetta, Mariella Devia boasts ‘perfect projection and intact vocal freshness’ (Rinascita).