Directed by Philippe Béziat, the film focuses largely on stage director Jean-François Sivadier [fr] working with coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay.

[2][3] In the first days of rehearsal, Dessay found the film crew an unwelcome presence, an intruder at an intimate process in which the participants, who don't always know each other, learn to work together.

"[4] On National Public Radio's Deceptive Cadence website, Tom Huizenga wrote that Becoming Traviata is arguably a film for opera geeks.

Huizenga and Boston Globe critic Jeffrey Gantz thought the film was less approachable because it neither outlined the opera's plot nor revealed how the performance played in front of an audience.

But, wrote Huizenga, the film's take on collaboration between the director, conductor and performers illuminates the creative process while continuing "the good fight to break down barriers between classical music and popular culture."