Verdi´s Rigoletto, one of his most successful operas, is based on Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse, which for Verdi was the greatest drama of the present day. The “spectacular production“ (La Vanguardia) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu “under excellent musical direction by Riccardo Frizza“, “the dramatic depth of Carlos Álvarez and the triumphant debut of Javier Camarena as Duke of Mantua“ (El Periodico) made it a “top-class Rigoletto“. (bachtrack.com) “A production with this simplicity requires outstanding direction, which is achieved here“ (Seen and Heard International) and is crowned by the colourful costumes of the Oscarwinning Sandy Powell
Don Carlo
Based on Schiller’s play of the same name, Don Carlo is Verdi’s most ambitious work, written for the Paris Opéra in 1865–66 in the tradition of a French grand opera. This legendary production from the Salzburg Easter Festival is directed by Herbert von Karajan. With its extraordinary vocal cast, the wonderful set design and costumes it is truly one of the most memorable opera performances.
Verdi: Messa da Requiem
The history of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem’s interpretation is inextricably bound up with the name of Herbert von Karajan. He conducted the work on countless occasions and in this legendary concert he performed it with some of the greatest singers of that time: Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnès Baltsa, José Carreras, and José van Dam. Verdi wrote his Messa da Requiem in 1873/74, between Aida and Otello, for Alessandro Manzoni, a poet whom he much admired. Verdi’s Mass for the Dead is not intended for liturgical use but for the concert hall. In addition to its profound spirituality, this masterpiece brings together the finest qualities from Verdi’s operas: endless melodic lines and captivating musico-dramatic effects.
Arena di Verona Box
Three great performances from Arena di Verona! Il Trovatore: „Zeffirelli gives to the arena what it merits: a colourful, multifaceted staging in which impressive mass scenes alternate with intimate moments […]“ (Der Neue Merker) Don Giovanni: Carlos Álvarez is “of beautiful voice” (GP Opera) and “presumably todays best Don Giovanni”. (L’ape musicale) Plácido Domingo Opera Gala: 12 times Grammy winner Plácido Domingo in the title roles as Nabucco, Macbeth and Simon Boccanegra with “top phrasing and articulation, his baritone with full and sonorous intonation and a unique timbre.” (Das Opernglas).
Falstaff
Based, in part, on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is Verdi’s last work for the stage – and only his second comic opera. And yet the humour in this multilayered masterpiece is distinctly wry, for all the main characters exhibit an array of human weaknesses that are implacably exposed by Verdi and his librettist Arrigo Boito. In this legendary performance from the Salzburg Festival 1982, Herbert von Karajan is not only leading a stunning cast of singers featuring the Wiener Philharmoniker, he too directed the opera, in the amazing set design of Günther Schneider-Siemssen.
Teatro alla Scala Opera Box
FIVE OUTSTANDING OPERAS FROM THE LEGENDARY TEATRO ALLA SCALA: AIDA: “A perfect coup de théâtre” (Giornale della musica). A “stellar cast” (La Stampa) I DUE FOSCARI: The Financial Times was deeply moved by Domingo’s performance, calling his interpretation of the role “sublime” DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE: Ádám Fischer “gets the best out of the Academy Orchestra with delicate execution and humane phrasing” (Die Presse) LE NOZZE DI FIGARO: “… when Diana Damrau enters as the Countess, we get a performance of special gravitas. Even the orchestra, under Franz Welser-Möst’s baton, melts to such grace.” (Financial Times) DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL: A „masterful use of light and silhouettes“ by Giorgio Strehler. (Milano Post) „Extraordinary, a wonder …“ (Corriere Della Sera)
Falstaff
Falstaff is Verdi’s masterpiece of comic opera, in which the behaviour of the ageing Sir John Falstaff, a devious freeloader and would-be ladykiller, causes uproar in the petty-bourgeois household of the Windsor’s. In this performance stage and film director Mario Martone updates the action to the present day and shows Falstaff as ageing rebel in dodgy sideburns and leather jacket. Among the “exquisit vocal cast” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Michael Volle gives his debut in the title role “with masterly dynamic shadings” (Financial Times) and “as if he had been preparing for this role for a lifetime.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) while “Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin are tickling out all the wit and all the momentum from this score.” (Online Merker)
Love Duets – Sonya Yoncheva & Vittorio Grigolo at Arena di Verona
In the imposing Arena di Verona, soprano Sonya Yoncheva and tenor Vittorio Grigolo present with dramatic and passionate synergy an evening of the most beautiful operatic love arias and duets in opera history. Passion that burns, consumes and sometimes kills is the central theme of this concert including arias from Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod as well as from Puccini´s Tosca, La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Verdi´s La traviata, all conducted by Plácido Domingo. Sonya Yoncheva has the full and vibrant timbre of a true lyrical soprano while Vittorio Grigolo, like Cavaradossi and Rodolfo, plays the cards of ardor and passion, with sweet and affectionate colors. An overall successful evening.
Plácido Domingo at the Arena di Verona
Opera legend Plácido Domingo returns to the spectacular Arena di Verona, where he more than 50 years ago made his debut. Plácido Domingo and Saioa Hernández perform a programme dedicated to the great Italian composers Giuseppe Verdi and Umberto Giordano. Jordi Bernàcer conducts the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona from the center of the Arena, which creates an incredible surround sound, embedded in a perfectly staged light show. It had been an extraordinary evening, where “the duets saw the artists perfectly in harmony” (OperaClick) and “Domingo performed with bravura, alternating with the spectacular Saioa Hernández” (operaactual.com).
Plácido Domingo Opera Gala – 50 Years at the Arena di Verona
What a pompous and exquisite gala to celebrate opera legend Plácido Domingo in the breathtaking Arena di Verona! 50 years ago the young Madrilenian singer Plácido Domingo gave his debut at the ancient open-air theatre: the beginning of a lasting and exceptional relationship. To mark the anniversary, Domingo presents a programme entirely dedicated to Verdi, performing three of his most complex and majestic baritone roles. No effort was spared to create an unforgettable evening in a unique atmosphere in the completely sold-out amphitheatre, which has been at the heart of Italian entertainment for almost 2,000 years. Whether as Babylonian king Nabucco, Scottish general Macbeth or as Doge Simon Boccanegra: Domingo’s versatility and aura is more than impressive, with “top phrasing and articulation, his baritone with full and sonorous intonation and a unique timbre – all this substantiates his exceptional position” (Das Opernglas). At the side of Domingo shines an excellent cast including Anna Pirozzi and Arturo Chacón-Cruz, supported by a perfectly rehearsed ballet under the baton of conductor Jordi Bernàcer who sovereignly leads the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona from scene to scene. A triumphal, almost historic moment for Domingo and the Arena di Verona!