BY JAY NORDLINGER [NY Sun, 12 January 2007]

At the moment, there are several outstanding Violettas in the world: Anna Netrebko, Angela Gheorghiu, Renée Fleming. These are sopranos who can fill the title role of Verdi's opera "La Traviata." (That word, "traviata," describes a woman who has gone astray, as Violetta has.) None of the aforementioned stars sang the part when "Traviata" returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Wednesday night, in Franco Zeffirelli's 1998 production.