Performer: Angela Gheorghiu

Gerald Finley's velvet baritone lights up this revival of David McVicar's production of Cilea's murder story

Lavish sets and costumes, plus high musical quality, make Tosca at the Vienna State Opera a fine example of grand opera. 

It’s more than a little surprising that Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur is first gracing the stage of the Staatsoper in 2014, 112 years after its première.It is, therefore, disappointing that this co-production with Covent Garden is not more successful, despite its many excellent qualities.

OK, opera fans: anyone out there tired of being confronted with provocative modern interpretations of beloved operas? If so, this Tosca production is just what the doctor ordered.Set, costume and direction all work together in this classic 1958 production to create the impression of Puccini’s turn-of-the-century masterpiece as it was originally intended.

In La rondine’s climactic scene, when Magda explains to her young lover Ruggero why she believes she must leave him, Puccini sets their exchange to one of the most hackneyed of all musical formulas: the cycle of fifths.

Ever since I saw Angela Gheorghiu in the title role of Barbara Willis Sweete’s brilliant opera film Romeo and Juliette, this soprano has been on my must-see-no-matter-what list. However, seeing Gheorghiu live is much easier said than done.

The Bulgarian capital is truly at the meeting point of world cultures, and the Sofia Philharmonic offers a heady mix of the world’s best classical soloists, as well as homegrown talent.