Rossini’s second masterpiece La Cenerentola premiered at the Teatro Valle in Rome on the 25th of January 1817, less than a year after the first performance of his The Barber of Seville and it´s pure, perfect Rossini. In this production, a set-up made to celebrate 200 years Rossini in Rome, Emma Dante´s “rousing Cinderella” (Corriere della Sera) “succeeds in impressing her own contemporary vision on a classic masterpiece, in perfect symbiosis with the spirit of Rossini.” (Opera Now) “Alejo Pérez deserves the credit for an excellent ensemble and a dazzling rhythmic rendering of the Rossinian score.” (La Nazione – Il Resto del Carlino – Il Giorno)
Salzburg Festival 2016: Faust
Gounod’s Faust was once one of the most famous and most performed of all operas and is still cherished today: surprisingly enough it has never been performed at the Salzburg Festival until 2016! This premiere featured a stunning production by Reinhard von der Thannen, award winning stage director and designer, and a supreme cast, where Ildar Abdrazakov embodies a seductive and demonic Mephistophélès and Italian soprano Maria Agresta stars as Marguerite, who struggles to resist temptation and gain salvatio. But “the crown deserves Piotr Beczala (Faust), a perfect cast” (Abendzeitung). The production was led by young Argentinian conductor Alejo Pérez.