Two British conductors, Opera North's Richard Farnes and the Royal Opera House's Antonio Pappano will battle it out with Germany's Ingo Metzmacher and Christian Thielemann, and Italian NicolaLuisotti for the conductor trophy.
Even Luca Scarzella's clever video projections can't make the dreary costumes and monolithic sets interesting, and, despite the heroic efforts of conductor NicolaLuisotti, the acting isn't of a quality to elevate either the production or the audience's spirits.