Opera Philadelphia has proved it can talk and chew gum at the same time.

During the same month when it mounted its “popera” about Andy Warhol, the company  prepared and rehearsed  an elaborate new production of Verdi’s La Traviata. Management imported sets and costumes from the Bucharest Opera in Romania and engaged Paul Curran as director for a new concept set in the 1950s.

I am open to variations on Traviata’s period. Verdi himself agreed to switch the premiere from his own time to “circa 1700" because the depiction of a courtesan might upset 1853 audiences. The composer and his mistress Giuseppina Strepponi had attended a performance of Alexander Dumas’s La Dame aux Camelias in Paris in 1852 and fell in love with the story which he called “a subject for our own age.”

Regardless of period, the sets can not, and do not, vary much. Wealthy Parisians in the ‘50s lived in the same buildings as those in earlier centuries. And most of them had the good taste not to furnish their homes with modern furniture. It’s immaterial whether there’s a mirror, or what paintings are on the wall of Violetta’s salon, or how many chandeliers hang above it.

The concept was that Violetta was part of a drug, alcohol and sex scene that marked her as an undesirable contact for any respectable man. It is convincing because the 1950s were, in some ways, not much advanced from Victorianism. We may recall that Ingrid Bergman’s career was wrecked in 1950 just because she left her husband and became pregnant with the child of the Italian director Roberto Rossellini.

At any rate, this new production turned out to be a triumphant one. It had a sumptuous look and was thoughtfully directed. And the singing of two of its three stars elevated the performance to memorable status.

Lisette Oropesa, 33, was born in New Orleans to Cuban emigres. She appeared at the Met as a Dew Fairy in Hansel und Gretel, as a maid in La Rondine, as the Forest Bird in the 2009 Siegfried, and as Nanetta in the Falstaff where Angela Meade and Stephanie Blythe had the main female roles. Only when she sang Susanna in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro four times in 2009, and Gilda (in Rigoletto) in 2013 did she get a chance to shine.

Opera Philly general director David Devan and music director Corrado Rovaris saw Oropesa there and approached her about taking on Violetta for the first time, then they assembled this Traviata around her.

Oropesa has been called a lyric coloratura and she apparently puts the emphasis on the lyric half, because she chose the role of Pamina over the Queen of the Night when she appeared in The Magic Flute. As Violetta she was a spunky lyric bordering on spinto. Her appearance in Act I was sexy and her manner independent, although it was made clear that she was under a doctor’s care for some undisclosed illness.

In the subsequent acts her characterization deepened to one of tenderness and generosity, while her singing became more dramatic. Addio del pasato in Act III was even more of a highlight than her sparkling Sempra libera in Act I.

Stephen Powell seems perfect for the role of Germont pere. He’s distinguished-looking and sang with paternal warmth.

Alec Shrader was a disappointment as Alfredo Germont. He was musicianly but lacked strength and color in his voice, while his acting indicated more interest in playing tennis than having sex with Violetta.

Rovaris conducted with emotion and, thankfully, included both verses of Violetta’s and Germont’s arias.

The direction had interesting moments such as the shadows of moving men appearing across the back of the Act II set (Violetta’s country home), indicating that she had sold her possessions to support Alfredo in the life-style to which he was accustomed. There also were tasteless moments like the shirtless guys pretending to be matadors at Flora’s party.

Above all, this was Oropesa’s event, and we look forward to future operas with her.