A major anniversary, a repertoire rarity, a director (Peter Konwitschny) infamous for controversy - and the result is a damp squib. This melange of uninventive staging and pedestrian musicianship is hardly a fitting tribute to the revered Italian maestro - who fortunately is not around to witness this missed opportunity.

The idea of utilizing the chosen subject matter to portray human tyranny in its seemingly-eternal life cycle may be a viable option - possibly even an original one - but what a shame to then deliver an unimaginatively lit (Manfred Voss) one-scene set with run-of-the-mill props (two cutout trees, fake furs, and a bird on a string) and a cast schooled in upstage stock gestures that could date from the days of Caruso and Melba. This, notwithstanding the depicted life span of power and its abuse (and ultimate demise) through juvenile battles with kitchen utensils, adult Russian roulette power games with loaded handguns, and the mental and physical decline of old age. Much activity, but to little avail - except for a little humour here and there.

The whole affair could undoubtedly have benefited from stellar singers with larger-than-life personalities to inject the spoof with some red blood. That aside, one has to place a certain portion of blame for the cloddish reading by the cast in the hands of the man holding the baton, Riccardo Frizza. While the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien held together throughout and unity was maintained between stage and pit, the interpretations were not coached beyond the most basic of levels, and lacked subtlety, finesse, and style.

In the title role, Dmitry Belosselsky brought sufficient tone with which to fill the house (somewhat wooden in timbre), but lacked adequate personality and stage presence to ignite the role sufficiently.

His foil, Ezio, was taken by George Petean who can boast a more-than-serviceable baritone and solid vocal technique, but who appeared somewhat tenuous, and even amateurish, in his stage deportment on this occasion.

Foresto (Nikolai Schukoff) was announced as indisposed due to an allergy. Despite the apology, his lacklustre timbre seemed to stay the course for most of the evening, even if occasionally swamped by his colleagues both on and below stage.

Lucrecia Garcia's Odabella is as generous in physical circumference as in noise level - the latter unfortunately not necessarily at the pitch prescribed by the composer. Her shrill timbre seemed to mellow somewhat as the evening progressed, but not sufficiently to approach and ultimately convince in Verdi's melting "Oh! Nel fuggente nuvolo".

Uldino was taken by a surprisingly modest-toned Andrew Owens, and Leone by Stefan Cerny.

Extras joined the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen and Arnold Schoenberg Chor (sounding under-powered, particularly in the tenor section) for the extremely busy staging - which alas failed to compensate for the production's aforesaid deficiencies.

Judging by the enthusiastic reception, the house hosted very few with memories of the Wiener Staatsoper's legendary production (1980) with Zampieri, Cappuccilli and Ghiaurov, conduced by Giuseppe Sinopoli.