By William Dart [New Zealand Herald, 14 September 2005]

Dmitry Bertman's La Traviata will doubtlessly ring a few changes on the Verdi classic when the NBR New Zealand Opera season opens tomorrow night at the Aotea Centre.

When this production debuted in Canada six years ago, Verdi's heroine was "more disco than salon" for one critic, who said there were boos mixed with the cheers during the curtain-calls. Not necessarily a bad thing, he concluded.