Until 29 March. Conducted by Bruno Bartoletti, directed by Liliana Cavani, with Patricia Racette, Peter Straka, Kathryn Harries, Torsten Kert.

Jenufa tells the story of the young Jenufa, the object of desire of half-brothers Steva and Laca, who is wrongly accused of killing her own son. In the end the real murderer comes to light and she can finally begin a new life with her lover Laca. Jenufa is a masterpiece of early 20th-century Slavonic realism. Janaceks music is an interesting mix of ancient and modern, with both aggressive and very delicate passages. Director Liliana Cavani should have no problems with an emotive work such as this, having successfully staged Leoncavallos I Pagliacci, another opera of the same ilk. The same goes for conductor Bruno Bartoletti, who has always done himself proud with early 20th-century opera. The cast includes sopranos Patricia Racette and Kathryn Harries, making their Italian dbut, and tenors Peter Straka and Torsten Kerl, who performed in Venice and Parma recently. Paolo Di Nicola