When an escaped political prisoner takes refuge in a church, an opera singer and a painter are drawn into a twisting plot that puts them at the mercy of the secret police and its network of torturers and spies.

Rivalling the splendour of Franco Zeffirelli’s Napoleonic-era sets and costumes, Sir David McVicar’s ravishing new production offers a splendid backdrop for extraordinary singing.

Sonya Yoncheva will make her role debut, replacing Kristine Opolais, alongside Vittorio Grigolo as her artist lover and Željko Lučić as Scarpia, the villainous police chief. Emmanuel Villaume conducts.