At Salzburg Festival, Cecilia Bartoli shines as Ariodante with her dazzling coloratura in a highly acclaimed new production by the German director Christoph Loy, who is known for his clever psychological stagings. Loy turns Handel’s splendid baroque opera into an exciting and differentiated reflection on gender roles. A high-class ensemble, first and foremost a brilliant Cecilia Bartoli in the trouser role of the knight Ariodante who effortlessly switches between cheerful and lamenting virtuoso singing makes the production a true triumph. At her side perform audience favourite Rolando Villazón as Lurcano and young American soprano Kathryn Lewek, praised by critics as a „true discovery“ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Gianluca Capuano at the podium of the Musiciens du Prince – Monaco „provides for elegance, richness of colour and a sensitive, stirring realisation of the ingenious score.“ (Kurier). „Cecilia Bartoli is a league of her own!” (Der Standard). “The singing was sensational” (LA Times)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Mozart – Mass in C minor
The Salzburg Festival brings Mozart’s monumental, unfinished Great Mass in C minor to St. Peter’s Abbey Church – the beautiful church for which the piece was composed and where it was probably also premiered. Gianluca Capuano conducts the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco and the vocal ensemble Il Canto di Orfeo. Mélissa Petit and Patricia Nolz are an “outstanding female duo” (Die Presse): Pétit’s coloraturas “sparkle like precious gems” and Nolz’s “darkly-shaded, slender soprano blends beautifully” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Salzburg Festival 2020: Mozarteum Orchestra & Capuano
“Julia Lezhneva shone….she is cut like a precious diamond with inclusions of ruby red brilliance” Salzburger Nachrichten. PROGRAM Mozart: Symphonies K. 201 & K. 183; “Quel nocchier che in gran procella” from La Betulia liberata, K. 118; “Voi avete un cor fedele” Aria for soprano and orchestra, K. 217; “Ch’io mi scordi di te?” Recitative and rondo for
soprano with piano and orchestra, K. 505; “Exsultate, jubilate” Motet for soprano and orchestra, K. 165
Salzburg Festival 2025: Hotel Metamorphosis
A panopticon of human emotions”: Barrie Kosky combines episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses with music by Antonio Vivaldi for the Salzburg Festival, reflecting the full spectrum of Ovid’s narrative art and Vivaldi’s musical work. Cecilia Bartoli has assembled a “world-class” (Kleine Zeitung) cast, and Gianluca Capuano and Les Musiciens du Prince deliver a “highly precise, colourful and exciting performance” (APA). “What a brilliant evening of theatre” (BR Klassik)
L’Elisir d’amore
“A soothing love potion for the ears and eyes that you’ll want to sip again and again.” (onlinemerker.de) In his iconic production of L’elisir d’amore for the Wiener Staatsoper, legendary director Otto Schenk works with a great attention to detail. Together with his congenial set designer Jürgen Rose, they bathe the stage in a warm, southern light and create a Mediterranean flair. Bogdan Volkov in the role of Nemorino “is not only an outstanding singer with a bright, ingratiating tenor voice, finely audible in his parade aria “Una furtiva Lacrima”, but also a pleasure to perform”. Maria Nazarova “is an enchanting and charming Adina and captivates with her crystal-clear soprano, sparkling coloratura and some inlaid high notes.” (onlinemerker.de)
Salzburg Festival 2019: Alcina
At Salzburg Festival, Handel‘s Alcina is a true celebration of singing: Cecilia Bartoli shines in the title role of the sorceress Alcina as does Philippe Jaroussky in the role of Ruggiero.
At their side, Sandrine Piau as Morgana and Kristina Hammerström as Bradamante are “ravishing“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung). Director Damiano Michielietto stages his first baroque opera and creates a convincing mixture of psychological interpretation and associative imagery. Unlike the libretto, which is based on Ludovico Ariosto‘s epic “Orlando furioso”, the Venetian Michieletto moves the setting of Alcina’s magic island to a mysterious hotel with a mirror wall. The look in the mirror of an aging woman, who has an oppressive fear of no longer being desired, is the obvious core of the production. Gianluca Capuano conducts the Musiciens du Prince – Monaco prudently and with a slim orchestral sound, the Bachchor Salzburg is excellently rehearsed. Capuano “perfectly combines drama with precision and poetry“ raves Süddeutsche Zeitung. “An extraordinary show“ (The New York Times)
Salzburg Festival 2019: Ariodante
At Salzburg Festival, Cecilia Bartoli shines as Ariodante with her dazzling coloratura in a highly acclaimed new production by the German director Christoph Loy, who is known for his clever psychological stagings. Loy turns Handel’s splendid baroque opera into an exciting and differentiated reflection on gender roles. A high-class ensemble, first and foremost a brilliant Cecilia Bartoli in the trouser role of the knight Ariodante who effortlessly switches between cheerful and lamenting virtuoso singing makes the production a true triumph. At her side perform audience favourite Rolando Villazón as Lurcano and young American soprano Kathryn Lewek, praised by critics as a „true discovery“ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Gianluca Capuano at the podium of the Musiciens du Prince – Monaco „provides for elegance, richness of colour and a sensitive, stirring realisation of the ingenious score.“ (Kurier). “Cecilia Bartoli is a league of her own!” (Der Standard). “The singing was sensational” (LA Times)