The most famous love story of all time, conducted by a legend of opera: superstar Plácido Domingo leads the stellar Juan Diego Flórez and Aida Garifullina as star-crossed lovers in Jürgen Flimm’s atmospheric staging of Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod at the Wiener Staatsoper. He lives and breathes opera: With over 3.800 opera performances, 147 roles and over 550 times at the rostrum, Domingo “is opera” (Der Standard), as his dignified performance in the house at the Ring proves once again. While conducting the 19th century French composer’s take on William Shakespeare’s play Roméo et Juliette, Domingo shows great passion and fire, he revels, breathes and suffers with Roméo and Juliette. Juan Diego Flórez, the leading Belcanto tenor of our time, shines as Roméo. He plays him equally convincing as swashbuckling hothead and as someone whose love knows no bounds. The darling of the audience places top notes with as much effect and taste as he savours tender phrases. There is not a dry eye in the house, when Flórez delivers his final monologue at Julia’s grave. Equally moving is his counterpart: Aida Garifullina, the young Russian soprano of Tatar origin, leaves no doubt about Julia’s strength, while simultaneously excelling with a voice that “seems as if it was weightless and made of ivory” (Die Presse).