At La Scala, the 2012-2013 season opened following tradition on December 7th with Richard Wagner's Lohengrin.

Anja Harteros, who was originally featured as Elsa, was ill, and so was her cover Ann Petersen, who had already stepped in for her at the young audience preview on December 4th. So Annette Dasch had to fly in at short notice from Berlin and go on stage after only a day's rehearsal. At the second performance, on December 11th, Harteros had not yet recovered, but Petersen was again able to sing in her place.

The production, directed by Claus Guth, called for a restless, haunted Elsa, trembling in a corner of the stage when the king asks her to respond to Telramund's accusation. Later, during her duet with Ortrud in the second act, the troubled Elsa already looked suspicious, even though swearing her trust to Lohengrin. Peterson was certainly very well prepared theatrically. However, she had to force her voice through the heavy role, with the result that she went out of control at the top and even lost intonation a couple of times.

In the title role, tenor Jonas Kaufmann was an unconventional Lohengrin, without heroic looks, as troubled as Elsa throughout the opera. He appeared on stage lying in a fetal position in which he had to sing his first aria. The final aria similarly lacked heroic spirit. The punishing stage direction hindered his singing, which remained flawless but much less impressive than it could have been.

Bass René Pape was luxury casting for King Heinrich der Vogler. Baritone Tómas Tómasson in the role of Telramund was audibly indisposed, but he managed to finish the performance. Evelyn Herlitzius was a deceitful enough Ortrud, but the color of hers and Petersen's voices was too similar to produce the required contrast in the second act.

In the first act, the action was set in a huge hall with wooden furniture, with a piano on one side. There was no swan when Lohengrin appeared, but a boy (Elsa's brother Gottfried) with white feathers on an arm walked on stage here and then during the whole performance. At other moments, two children represented Elsa and Gottfried in their early days. Feathers fell from above hinting at the swan (which did not appear at the end either). In the last act, the stage was covered by water and Elsa and Lohengrin had to sing barefoot in the water for an hour, something which disturbed Annette Dasch at opening night.

The orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, did not sound as well tuned as in other productions, and especially the brass left much to be desired. But on the whole the performance was successful, and both the singers and the conductor were cheered at the end.