Pierre Corneille’s classic tragedy Polyeucte celebrates the martyrdom of an Armenian nobleman sent to his death by his homeland’s Roman conquerors. It was a subject made to order for Gaetano Donizetti, the bel canto master responsible for hits like Anna Bolena and Lucia di Lammermoor. Alas, operas on religious subjects couldn’t get by the Italian censors, so presto chango! The adaptation conceived as Poliuto received its premiere in Paris as Les Martyrs, radically revised for Gallic tastes. In the 20th century, the original version served briefly as a vehicle for the incomparable Franco Corelli and Maria Callas at La Scala, but the score remains a rarity—especially in the Frenchified form now to be heard in Vienna. John Osborn takes the title role, alongside Roberta Mantagna as his wife, the initially reluctant convert Pauline, and Mattia Olivieri as Sévère, the Roman potentate who casts a tender eye on her. Jérémie Rhorer conducts, Cezary Tomaszewski directs. —Matthew Gurewitsch