Performer: Alfred Sramek

Despite Angel Blue and Ryan Speedo Green, this revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production lacked vocal colour.

This L’elisir d’amore at the Vienna Staatsoper, with Lawrence Brownlee and Mario Cassi, saw a successful two-performance test-run before its return in March, again under the baton of Guillermo García Calvo.

In a city where the Vienna State Opera ball is considered the climax of the carnival season and where the local news would lend itself to great libretti (were operetta still in fashion), it is not too surprising that music and theatre performances occasionally mirror the headlines.

Angela Gheorghiu als leidende Charlotte, Jean-Francois Borras als leidenschaftlicher Werther und das melancholische Dirigat von Frederic Chaslin sorgten zwar nicht für einen perfekten, aber hochemotionalen Abend an der Wiener Staatsoper.