Performer: Attila Mókus

Marco Armiliato’s conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper’s latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.

At 70 years old, American tenor Gregory Kunde makes a magnificent role debut as Captain Vere, with a strong ensemble of singers, chorus, and orchestra in Willy Decker's effective production.

Attila Mókus's dramatic baritone was scornful at one moment, tender, distressed, vengeful, or broken in mourning at others, vocal signposts in Rigoletto’s descent into the hell of his own making.

The first premiere of the new Staatsoper season is a qualified success, led by Eleanora Buratto's superb Suor Angelica and Ambrogio Maestri's masterly Gianni Schicchi in Puccini's triptych of one-act operas. 

Already a psychodrama as written, the Salome according to Cyril Teste takes us deeper into what makes the protagonist – or is she a tragic heroine? – into who she is.