First Impression: Opera Birmingham, Verdi's "La Traviata"

OPERA BIRMINGHAM/JEFF TOMBRELLO Soprano Susanna Phillips as Violetta in Opera Birmingham's production of "La Traviata."

Susanna Phillips' first performance as Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata" revealed a soprano whose star is clearly on the rise. After working through some rough-hewn coloratura passages in Act 1, the Huntsville native settled confidently into the role, both vocally and dramatically. She forged a strong vocal partnership with the robust-voice baritone Louis Otey in an extended Act 2 duet, and affectingly portrayed the dying courtesan in the Act 3 aria, "Addio del passato."