Stikhina, Tézier and Tetelman outstanding in classic Vienna Tosca

Elena Stikhina (Tosca) and Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi)

Ludovic Tézier (Scarpia) and Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi)

Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi) and Elena Stikhina (Tosca)

Ludovic Tézier (Scarpia) and Elena Stikhina (Tosca)

Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi)

By Mark Pullinger, 21 September 2025

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“the whiff of cordite hangs in the air”

Reviewed at Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna on 20 September 2025

Puccini, Tosca

Vienna State Opera

Pier Giorgio Morandi, Conductor

Margarethe Wallmann, Director

Nicola Benois, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera

Concert Association Vienna State Opera Chorus

Elena Stikhina, Floria Tosca

Jonathan Tetelman, Mario Cavaradossi

Ludovic Tézier, Baron Scarpia

Jusung Gabriel Park, Cesare Angelotti

Devin Eatmon, Spoletta

Hans Peter Kammerer, Sciarrone

Wolfgang Bankl, Sacristan

Dan Paul Dumitrescu, A Jailer

Helena Paeschke, Shepherd Boy

Tragedy in the mirror: Minghella’s Madama Butterfly in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 14th March

Ermonela Jaho returns to one of her signature roles as Cio-Cio-San, delivering a searing and deeply nuanced portrayal.

****1

Too much and too little: Jan Lauwers’ restless Clemenza in Vienna

Chanda VanderHart, 12th March

The creative team behind the new Staatsoper Clemenza is unwilling to trust that Mozart’s opera is interesting enough to stand on its own.

***11

An Idomeneo shattered to pieces at the Wiener Staatsoper

Orsolya Gyárfás, 23rd January

A committed cast struggles to lend a spark of life to Kasper Holten's static staging of Mozart's first mature opera.

**111

A holiday Bohème: Puccini, Zeffirelli and tradition in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 21st December

Giacomo Sagripanti conducts a luxuriant reading with a cast anchored by Juan Diego Flórez and Nicole Car, in Zeffirelli’s familiar, generous, unabashedly emotional production.

***11

Lise auf Naxos: Davidsen makes a triumphant return to Ariadne

Mark Pullinger, 28th January

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to Sven-Eric Bechtolf's lean but polished production with an outstanding cast, outstandingly conducted.

****1

Kunde leads Wiener Staatsoper’s shattering Billy Budd

Ako Imamura, 26th October

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.

*****

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Steel and sparks: Stikhina, Tézier and Tetelman outstanding in Wallmann’s classic Vienna Tosca