This is one of my favorite operas. This vintage production is exquisite; I enjoyed it at The Met in 1991 with Pavarroti as the Italian Singer. The 9 Jan 2010 performance was excellent, with a better cast for the most part, than before. The performances of the three principles were extraordinary. Thomas Allen was the best Faninal I have ever seen. On a negative note, I recommend that the "closeups" be a little less close; we lose some of the illusion when we see each facial blemish. I disagree with the "reviewer" who complained about early arrivers saving excessive numbers of seats. I arrived early to save seats and saw none of that of that excess at our theater. Perhaps the seating policy should be changed to reserved designated seats.