There’s much to admire as Emma Matthews saddles up Elijah Moshinsky’s warhorse.

You have to wonder what a 19-year-old production that Sydney audiences have seen more than a few times in recent years is doing in Opera Australia’s 2013 season. Australian director Elijah Moshinsky’s sumptuous and faithful 1994 production of La Traviata is a perennial favourite of both audiences and the company, but it really is old news. Verdi’s tragic masterpiece is so dramatically and musically ripe, it would have to be on the top of most opera directors’ wish lists, so it’d be nice to see someone else get a crack at it. But when you have a star that shines as brightly as Emma Matthews at the centre and a supporting cast with serious vocal and dramatic chemistry, it’s clear to see why the old faithful has been dragged out again.

It’s a testament to the performers onstage that nothing in Moshinsky’s production looks tired. From Michael Yeargan’s miraculous sets through to the vibrancy of the chorus numbers in the first two acts, everything comes up shining. In the two big party scenes, Moshinsky and Yeargan have worked together to crowd the stage with detail to create...