This year's Sommerfest finale was a real occasion. You would be hard-pressed to find a better performance of "La Traviata" than the Minnesota Orchestra's at Orchestra Hall on Saturday night.

Verdi's opera is ideally suited to the Minnesota Orchestra's semi-staged production. Despite glittering party scenes, it is essentially a chamber opera, focused on the courtesan Violetta, Alfredo, the young man who loves her, and Germont, his disapproving father. The intimacy of this staging only heightened the love story.

The full sound of the Minnesota Orchestra was a powerful force in the drama. Andrew Litton proved an ideal opera conductor. His sensitivity to the singers was apparent in the way he watched and responded to them. But he was never indulgent, maintaining the forward thrust of the performance.

Director Robert R. Neu created moving human interactions. His production was full of nuanced detail, but he was not afraid to get out of his singers' way. Violetta just sat still for "Ah, fors' e lui," and her reflections were riveting.

Even suffering from a sinus infection, Maureen O'Flynn made an ideal Violetta. The coloratura of "Sempre libera" held no fears, for she and her instrument ably rode the waves of the lush orchestral sound in "Amani, Alfredo." Her voice lives in the stratosphere, but just as remarkable is her plummy lower register.

Her performance was a perfect dramatic realization, as well. The plot can seem melodramatic, but with her last-act aria, "Addio del passato," she took the evening fully into the realm of tragedy.

As Alfredo, 24-year-old Michael Fabiano was a revelation. He performed with a youthful impetuosity that was initially amusing, but that made his Act Two humiliation of Violetta perfectly believable. The electricity between him and O'Flynn was palpable.

His was a large voice, capable of passionate ardor, and he sang with style. He deserved the rarely heard cabaletta to his second-act aria.

Stephen Kechulius' Germont was not in their league. He had a sumptuous voice, but his performance was rather crude and his acting lacked subtlety. But his grief in the last act helped ground the tragedy.

Christina Baldwin was an elegant presence as Flora. Also notable in the supporting cast was Vera Mariner's touching Annina, Andrew Wilkowske's imperious Baron and Aaron Larson's jaunty Marquis. The Minnesota Chorale was also a powerful participant, adding to the performance's musical and theatrical values.

Beard is a Minneapolis writer.