Word around the State Opera before the Oct. 5 premiere of La Traviata was that this is the best production the theater has mounted in two years. There have been some noteworthy moments during that time — Eva Urbanová's long-awaited debut in the title role of Rusalka and a darkly disturbing Queen of Spades come to mind. But for once, the buzz was true: This is a stunningly good production, head and shoulders above anything the State Opera has produced in recent years.

From the opening curtain, the tone and themes are set. Violetta is on the floor finishing up with a customer, literally rolling around in piles of cash. Sex and money will dominate the rest of the evening, as will the look of the set: high-gloss black and white, elegant but spare, with everyone in 1920s formal wear and towering drawing-room walls framing the action.

The inspiration for the set came from the 2005 production of La Traviata at the Salzburg Festival, which featured the same stark but sophisticated look with occasional splashes of color punctuating the soft lighting and monochromatic color scheme. This production is not identical but it's very close. And it's effective, captivating to the eye and visually mirroring the black-and-white morality that ensnares the characters and drives the action.

French director Arnaud Bernard, who has worked at opera houses throughout Europe, eschews the often-sentimental approach to Traviata, focusing instead on the harsh realities of being a prostitute — high-class, but a hooker nonetheless — and the corrosive effects of money and status. One could argue with that point of view, which effectively drains the story of any romance. But it certainly works in the larger context of this production, with its cold abstraction and emotional violence.

Arnaud carries those themes perhaps too far with his singers, who seem to be in only two poses throughout the evening: splayed against the wall like insects on a pinboard, or on their knees. Some of that is dictated by the set — there's not much else to do when the only props onstage are a couch and a wall. But it's clearly overdone, particularly in the last act, when Violetta has a death grip (literally) on a large column that she keeps circling like a wounded animal.

It was probably no coincidence that the biggest round of applause on opening night went to Vladimír Chmelo in the role of Giorgio Germont, for the simple reason that he was allowed to step to the front of the stage, stand up straight and sing. But the real standout of the evening was the State Opera's star soprano, Marina Vyskvorkina, who started strong and was breaking hearts by the second act.

Enrico Devico, a regular conductor at the Cologne Opera, drew a surprisingly lackluster performance from the State Opera orchestra. It was serviceable with occasional bright moments, particularly in the final act, but certainly a notch or two below what the orchestra is capable of on its better nights.