On paper, this new production - one of three events marking the first decade of the house as Vienna’s third official opera house - 
looked promising: in the male lead, one of this country’s most celebrated actors, two internationally acclaimed mezzi, and a young blossoming soprano as Polly - all under the wing of the highly-respected director, Keith Warner.

Deluxe sets (Boris Kudlička) centred upon the revolving stage with flamboyant 50’s costumes (Kaspar Glarner) and accessories. Celia Peachum’s neon-pink coiffe, and the finale’s pardoning drag queen (Markus Butter, promoted from Police Chief to Royalty) draped in ermine and in full coronation regalia descending on a throne from the heights - were quite over the top, but wonderfully so.

Most of the set numbers were performed almost out of context on a stage upon the stage, with a grand staircase which served in the finale for true showtime spectacle, with the Arnold Schönberg Chor shining in silver tails and red top hats to set the happy ending following Macheath’s reprieve.

Clever lighting (Bruno Poet) and slick scene changes with plenty of action nevertheless failed to fully waken this beast to life. Among the leads in the classical singing department, really only Florian Boesch (Jonathan Peachum) and Markus Butter (as Police chief “Tiger” Brown) and Nina Bernsteiner (Polly) appeared totally at ease with their spoken dialogue - the others resided more comfortably in song.

On the other side of the fence, the cast’s Macheath (Tobias Moretti) relied mostly on a kind of Sprechgesang, intoned and supported by discrete sound amplification (as are the other soloists). 
And somehow even his straight acting appeared remote, leaving the overall portrayal a touch tame and rather short-changed.

Nina Bernsteiner truly milked the potential that Polly invites, creating a strong stage figure who managed to well-juggle a classical vocal training with the stylistic demands of this particular genre.

As Celia Peachum, Angelika Kirchschlager made much of the designer’s concept, parading her 50’s polka dots and feathers, and providing one one of the evening’s highlights in the “Ballade von der sexuellen Hörigkeit”.

Nicely-shaped and vocally ideal, Florian Boesch gave a well-rounded Mr. Peachum, with biting delivery and clear focus throughout.

Anne Sofie von Otter’s slightly jaded Jenny (well-complimenting this Macheath, who too is no longer in his salad days) is a soft-line domina with a man-sized cage and leather riding crop, and who eventually unfolded to reveal a softer feminine touch as Macheath awaits the gallows. A classy number as one would expect from this imaginative performer.

Gan-ya Ben-Gur Akselrod blossomed into a confidently-fiery, and vocally impressive Lucy, while the remaining cast left a strong impression - largely through plenty of vivid character definition.

The Klangforum Wien under Johannes Kalitzke generally managed to underscore the rather vacillating cast with benevolence rather than the licentiousness that might have helped jump-start this production into fulfilling its potential.