On January 11, the Metropolitan Opera revived Giuseppe Verdi's "Stiffelio" (1850) and Plácido Domingo, protagonist of the 1993 Met premiere and 1998 revival, this time presided in the pit. For the work, Verdi set the then contemporary tale of a German protestant minister, Stiffelio (Stiffelius), also called Rodolfo Müller, whose wife, Lina, has an affair with Raffaele von Leuthold, a young nobleman, in her spouse's absence. Lina's father, Count Stankar, avenges the family 'honor' by killing Raffaele and Stiffelio, inspired by the Book of John, Chapter 8, about Jesus refusing to condemn "l'adultera" (the 'adulteress')-"Quegli di voi che non peccò,/la prima pietra scagli" (Whichever among you is without sin, cast the first stone)-'pardons' Lina. Verdi predictably ran afoul of the Italian censors with this controversial subject and, dismayed by the disfiguring changes they demanded, withdrew the opera after its first productions-in Trieste, and in Napoli, the Papal States, and Bologna (as "Guglielmo Wellingrode," about a minister of state, a version Verdi loathed), and finally in Barcelona-and extensively reworked it for an 1857 premiere in Rimini, as "Aroldo," now with a more remote, 12th century setting and a Saxon knight, returning from the Crusades, instead of a clergyman, as central figure. The lost score of "Stiffelio" resurfaced in the 1960s and the opera has since been presented in a number of cities, including Parma, Köln, New York (in Brooklyn and Manhattan), Boston, and London, in editions reflecting increasing scholarship.

After a somewhat tentative start, during which soprano Jennifer Check, in the supporting role of Dorotea, Lina's cousin, made one of the strongest impressions, the performance caught fire in the duet, which becomes a trio with Stankar (Polish baritone Andrzej Dobber), in which Stiffelio (José Cura), discovers that Lina (Sondra Radvanovsky), is missing her wedding ring and explodes with fury. Radvanovsky offered beautiful high, quiet singing in Lina's first act prayer, and her ensuing confrontation with Dobber's unforgiving Stankar boasted the requisite blood-and-thunder and sensitivity alike, in good measure. The first act's climactic largo septet and chorus-in which recurring lines "Fatal, fatal mistero/tal libro svelerà" (This book will reveal a fatal mystery) refer to a copy of Klopstock's poetic and religious "Messias" (Messiah), in which an intimate letter from Raffaele to Lina is hidden-and the ensemble's stretta, both forcefully kicked off by Cura, were as grand as they should be, thanks to the aforementioned singers and Michael Fabiano (debut) as Raffaele, Phillip Ens as the older preacher, Jorg, and Diego Torre as Lina's other cousin, Federico, guided by Domingo.

Lina's dramatic second act recitative and agitated prayer, beside her mother's grave, and cabaletta, in which she bids Raffaele leave, after returning her ring, and leave her in peace, firmly reestablished Radvanovsky as a vibrant soprano, with an incandescent, chiaroscuro instrument, so well suited to Verdian bel canto.

Dobber contributed an imposing account of Stankar's despairing "Lina, pensai che un angelo" (Lina, I thought you were an angel), but the vengeance cabaletta "Oh gioia inesprimabile" (Oh inexpressible joy), requiring vocal agility, did not show him to advantage. In the brief, ungrateful role of the 'libertine' Raffaele, Fabiano disclosed a promising tenor.

Cura's brooding Stiffelio, bent on divorce, and Radvanovsky's contrite Lina, determined to confess to the man of the cloth what the husband would not hear, capped their portrayals with a penultimate scene "Opposto è il calle" (Opposite are the paths) of full intensity, and emotional subsequent scene in the church, suggesting the peace they have made with each other.

Giancarlo del Monaco's production, with lavish sets and costumes by Michael Scott and lighting by Gil Wechsler, is staged this season by David Kneuss.

Repetitions of "Stffelio" are on January 14, 19, 23 and 26 at 8 p.m. and 30 at 1 p.m. Julianna Di Giacomo sings Lina from the 19th through the 26th. For remaining tickets, priced from $15 to 375, telephone 212/362-6000, visit www.metopera.org, or go the Met box office at Lincoln Center. Rush tickets, for $20, are available at the box office on the day of performance, from Monday through Thursday.