As one of Verdi’s early works, (it was staged in 1846 just prior to Macbeth) Attila has not always been received particularly well. However, what we see in this DVD is a full blooded Italian opera with some thrilling music and effective dramatic highlights. If some of the music is familiar it may be that it has come to you through Charles Mackerras’ resourceful ballet score for The Lady and the Fool, where he drafted music from Verdi’s lesser known operas to great effect.

There are some seven versions on CD, four on DVD; the one to beat appears to be from La Scala under Riccardo Muti, with Cheryl Studer and Samuel Ramey. Even though this production from the Mariinsky is excellent, La Scala’s production and soloists are superior. Abdrazakov’s Attila is very good, until compared to Ramey’s splendid savage. Markarova fields a fiery Odabella, the woman who (in this opera) kills Attila in the final scene, but Studer simply wipes the floor with her at La Scala. In the part of the knight, Foretso, both Skorokhodov in this performance and Kaludi Kaludov at La Scala acquit themselves well. Mariinsky’s Pope Leo (Addikeyev) is piously wet.

The character of Attila has...