Verdi’s “La Traviata” is the classic opera where boy meets courtesan, boy is consumed by love, courtesan is consumed by tuberculosis. The Lyric Opera of the North’s production that opened Thursday night at the Superior High School Performing Arts Center offered a Twin Ports twist with a trio of sopranos, each taking one act as the doomed Violetta Valéry.

The unique casting reflects the depth of local talent and the peculiar demands of the role, since Violetta bursts on stage as a coloratura but ultimately expires as a lyric soprano. Each of the three divas is eminently suited best to their assigned act and the result is that the sum of the parts gloriously exceeds the whole.

In Act 1, after the spirited Brindsi, Sarah Lawrence’s Violetta provides the requisite ornamentation, first in “Ah, forss’e lui,” and then especially in a poignant “E strano! e strano!” Although she forgoes the final skyrocket of a high E-flat at the end of “Sempre libera,” Lawrence deals quite well with the acting demands of Dorothy Danner’s staging, which required her to sing while standing, sitting, lying on the floor, and dressing for bed.

Vicki Fingalson gets the big moment of “Amami, Alfredo, amami quant’io t’amo” in Act 2, but has a better one with her heartbreaking duet with Alfredo’s father, “Dite alla giovine si’ bella e pura.” Her transition from defiant to resigned becomes as important to setting up the opera’s most famous aria as do the swelling strings that herald its arrival at the story’s apex.

As Giorgio Germont, Andrew Oaken’s rich, evocative baritone filled the auditorium. There was a staccato like section of his “Pura siccome un angelo” that was a bit excessive, but otherwise this was a powerful performance. Oaken voice was tender once Violetta agrees to his demand to leave Alfredo, and forceful in his denunciation of his son’s contemptuous behavior when Alfredo publicly humiliates Violetta by paying her for services rendered.

The showcase moment of the final act was Alice Pierce’s sublime legato performance of “Addio, del passato.” If there were any doubts about having three sopranos, they dissipated at that point, and Violetta sang her final lament, “Grand Dio! morir si giovine,” before dying in her beloved Alfredo’s arms.

The evening’s tragic tone is set by the sad and elegant death motif beginning the Proludio, followed by an lengthy elaboration of the melancholy melody that goes super nova in Violetta’s second act aria. Director Dorothy Danner makes her stamp on this production before the first note is sung, setting action to the Proludio with a fourth Violetta (the Minnesota Ballet’s Suzie Baer), that shows us the depths of despair from which she rose, before we bear witness to her tragic fall.

Danner embraces the three Violettas idea creatively, admirably using the recurring shades of Dickens with restraint. She also plays off the usual translation of the title as “The Fallen Women” in her staging as well. Danner likes to give her singers tangible things to play against, so Alfredo moves across stage holding a white camellia instead of remaining off stage singing his part of “Sempre libera,” and Violetta returns the favor at the start of the next act, happily picnicking while Alfredo sings “De’ miei bollenti spirit.”

Time is in flux in this production, from the spectral appearances of the other Violettas, who periodically shadow each other, to Danner’s use of slow motion and tableaus with the ensemble. Conductor Dirk Meyer follows suit, adjusting the tempo to fit narrative demands and the abilities of his vocalists.

Although they are denied the opportunity to be gypsies and matadors, the two-dozen-plus members of the LOON chorus shine, from the compelling chaos of the Violetta’s welcoming back party at the start, to their fueling “Alfredo di questio core,” the magnificently dramatic roller coaster of a waltz that ends the second act.

The Performing Arts Center proves itself an ideal venue for LOON because of its ideal acoustics (too good when you can hear footsteps). There were also times, in between arias, when the singers were upstage and the orchestra began to overwhelm the voices, but those moments were relatively few.

Ann Gumpper designed a quartet of sumptuous sets: an elegantly simple salon, an airy patio for amour al fresco, the Barone’s opulent gaming room, and the stark candle lit bedroom that is Violetta’s death chamber. The beautiful costumes also spoke to the quality of this most memorable production with which LOON has achieved a new high water mark.