Best of all, however, was Lebanese-Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Violetta. The role needs someone beautiful, with a sensational voice, slim build (so that the tuberculosis looks believable) and great acting skills, especially in the final despairing act and El-Khoury had all of those in abundance. I had seen her in the same role at the Royal Opera House earlier this year and was stunned by her performance. At Glyndebourne, it was even better with the deceptive simplicity of the sets accentuating the effectiveness and glory of her performance. Glyndebourne always tries hard to bring something special to its productions without ever overdoing it. In May, I had thought their La Traviata was as close to perfection as one could hope for. This time I thought it was, if anything, even better."