I visited Chicago to see John Adams’s “Doctor Atomic” at Lyric Opera of Chicago — but while there, I got a welcome chance to catch “La Traviata” as well.

“Traviata” is one of the most frequently performed operas in the repertory, making the odds good that even the most casual of opera-goers will have encountered it. The Lyric has restaged its production, with its elegant costumes and grand sets by Desmond Healey, putting Frank Corsaro in charge. Corsaro made the opera a little too busy in places, but he knows how to make the most of it dramatically.

Renee Fleming is the reigning lyric soprano of our time, and Monday’s sold-out performance offered ample evidence of that. There are good reasons for her public stature and popularity: she’s got a beautiful voice, intelligently used; she’s a committed, effective actress; she’s got a gorgeous face and person. Throughout her career she’s taken on a wide variety of roles — including Violetta Valery, the noblest courtesan in all opera.

Fleming handled the florid music of Act I well, but she seemed most comfortable vocally in the second and third acts, singing with ravishing feeling and beauty of tone, and without the crooning that has sometimes marred her work. Her dramatic vision of the role — from the superficiality of the first scene to the grief of Violetta’s final moments — was one of the best I’ve encountered over the years, and she looked terrific throughout.

Baritone Thomas Hampson had a few moments of uncertain pitch at Flora’s Act II party, but otherwise delivered a sterling reading of the elder Germont. Hampson and Fleming supported each other dramatically, making their scene together utterly absorbing.

Tenor Matthew Polenzani was thoroughly professional as Alfredo, but he seemed a little pallid next to the vivid colors of Fleming and Hampson, both vocally and in terms of his acting; it was never quite clear why so vibrant and intense a person as Violetta would throw away the life she loved for him.

Most of the secondary roles were nicely done, with an ensemble feel; some of the younger Opera Center artists seem to be feeling their way on the dramatic side. As Flora, mezzo-soprano Buffy Baggott seemed more concerned with her character than with her singing, but her determined frivolity worked well. Veteran baritone Philip Kraus, as Baron Douphol, apparently didn’t get the memo about the ensemble work, though: he fidgeted when the focus should have been on Violetta and Alfredo, and his acting was cartoonish.

The chorus sang with accuracy and inhabited their characters — including a soprano in George Sand drag — with real personality.

Unfortunately, there was a persistent disconnect between pit and stage. Music director Andrew Davis conducted as though he had a plane to catch and was worried about how long it would take to get through security; his approach was consistently rigid, and he didn’t breathe with the singers. Even the stars found themselves left behind on a frequent basis. That kept the performance earthbound, and with a cast like this one, that’s a real loss.

The audience suffered from a high incidence of high-decibel coughers, even for Chicago in January. At times, it was hard not to be distracted by the constant hacking — and by wondering just who was supposed to be dying of consumption in this opera.

“La Traviata,” seen January 14 at Lyric Opera of Chicago
20 N. Wacker, Chicago, Illinois 60606
Now through January 26; all performances sold out, but call for returns; $31 to $187
314-332-2244 or www.lyricopera.org