Italian director Franco Zeffirelli has died at the age of 96. He directed the world's greatest opera singers such as Maria Callas, Renata Scotto, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and José Carreras. For all that his creativity was legendary, his innovative productions were less well-known. As a set-designer, he created striking productions using sliding Perspex panels. This was seen in the 2002 staging of La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. Once again plastics were able to offer a wide range of possibilities. Zeffirelli will remain in the heart and the history of art.