Performer: Dan Paul Dumitrescu

It may be on its 663rd outing, but Margarethe Wallmann's Tosca is a classic for a reason, as proved in this outstanding performance at the Wiener Staatsoper. 

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.

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.