The opera's main protagonists...deliver virtuoso performances. But the real stars are the Wiener Philharmoniker and Mirga Gražinyté-Tyla, who extract a formidable array of colours and textures from Weinberg's acerbic score.

The Polish director - famous for his ability to bring out deep emotions and explore the many layers of human psyche on the operatic stage - resonates perfectly with the dense, dark and dissonant world Weinberg and Medvedev created on the basis of Dostoevsky's masterpiece...I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Warlikowski’s bold treatment of Weinberg’s version of Dostoevsky’s novel about goodness battling adversity wouldn’t have the same impact without the anguished lyric tenor of Bogdan Volkov, so wonderful as the princely hero Myshkin, who’s considered an idiot but isn’t.
Surrounding performances are almost as powerful, while Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla’s precise conducting of the Vienna Philharmonic highlights the many colours and textures baked into Weinberg’s anguished and nervous score.