The first time I saw her was the Il Trovatore from three seasons ago as a Leonora (pictured above) with a brick-solid voice. (But actually, the first time I met her voice was as High Priestess at a Met Aida a few seasons before that.) The Donna Anna (in Don Giovanni) was a small detour to a peak as Elena in I Vespri Siciliani, which set her membership in the next generation of American superstars, tasked to slowly displace the 90s' formidable Fleming/Voigt/Swenson/Zajick/Hunt-Lieberson/etc. batch. (Sondra's looking for more members, by the way.)[Tonight, her Elisabetta; then my battered ears take a week off to recuperate, when I'll also reminisce (in the Florida sun: spring training!) about the generously built voices--Voigt and Guleghina--that have damaged me the past week.]