A unified theory for optimal feedforward torque control of anisotropic synchronous machines with non-negligible stator resistance and mutual inductance is presented which allows to analytically compute (1) the optimal direct and quadrature reference currents for all operating strategies, such as maximum torque per current (MTPC), maximum current, field weakening, maximum torque per voltage (MTPV) or maximum torque per flux (MTPF), and (2) the transition points indicating when to switch between the operating strategies due to speed, voltage or current constraints. The analytical solutions allow for an (almost) instantaneous selection and computation of actual operation strategy and corresponding reference currents. Numerical methods (approximating these solutions only) are no longer required. The unified theory is based on one simple idea:all optimisation problems, their respective constraints and the computation of the intersection point(s) of voltage ellipse, current circle or torque, MTPC, MTPV, MTPF hyperbolas are reformulated implicitly as quadrics which allows to invoke the Lagrangian formalism and to find the roots of fourth-order polynomials analytically. The proposed theory is suitable for any anisotropic synchronous machine. Implementation and measurement results illustrate effectiveness and applicability of the theoretical findings in real world.