In 2012, the Hamburg State Opera presented a new production of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece Madama Butterfly. The internationally renowned director Vincent Boussard stages the opera, collaborating with star fashion designer Christian Lacroix and set designer Vincent Lemaire. Together they succeed in bringing to life the moving tragedy of the young Japanese geisha Cio-Cio San in a stylish and sophisticated production that focuses on the title role, impressively portrayed by Greek soprano Alexia Voulgaridou. Subtly conducted by Alexander Joel, the dynamic cast includes Romanian Tenor Teodor Ilincai as Cio-Cio San’s love interest, B.F. Pinkerton and Estonian baritone Lauri Vasar as Consul Sharpless. Madama Butterfly contains an enormous wealth of psychological poetry. Through his music, Giacomo Puccini lends his characters extremely rich and complex profiles and created an extraordinary explosive force.
Salzburg Easter Festival 2016: Otello
A superb new Otello from the Salzburg Easter Festival: “Cura is a commanding Otello with his richly coloured tenor and both fragile delicacy and fiery ardour” (Südwestpresse). “Röschmann as Desdemona guarantees effortless perfection” (Neue Musikzeitung). “Álvarez as Iago would be hard to surpass” (Abendzeitung). Thielemann”has discovered an impressively modern sound for Verdi” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), “generating Italian ‘Musikdrama’ with their incandescence and precise nuances” (Abendzeitung). In his fascinating staging, director Vincent Broussard integrates video with set and lighting design to create an idealized visual context for what he calls Otello’s “conflict of ancient and modern, of 2D and 3D”.