Rossini Opera Festival 2022: Otello

Otello is an opera by Gioachino Rossini based on William Shakespeare’s play Othello. Set in Cyprus, the opera tells the story of the Moorish general Otello, who is manipulated by his ensign Iago into believing that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful. As a result, Otello succumbs to jealousy and murders Desdemona, only to realize too late that he has been duped by Iago. In the end, Otello kills himself in remorse. Rossini’s Otello significantly differs from William Shakespeare’s play (and Verdi’s opera), particularly by elevating the character Rodrigo to a major role alongside Otello and Iago, having earned the work the nickname “opera of the three tenors”. “The three warriors acting out their masculinity are all tenors: Antonino Siragusa gives the scheming Iago in an ingratiating and at the same time sharply determined manner; Enea Scala, on the other hand, impresses as Otello […] Dmitry Korchak impresses above all with “Che ascolto”, his virtuoso aria of despair that gets under the skin.” (Tagesspiegel)

Parsifal

In the magnificent Teatro Massimo in Palermo, British stage director Graham Vick and Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber bring Richard Wagner’s last opera Parsifal in a suspenseful interpretation to the stage. In this Parsifal, the myth of the Holy Grail is woven into real-life events, a parable of the suffering of those who flee war and conflict zones to freedom. Omer Meir Wellber makes a highly successful debut as music director in Palermo where Richard Wagner composed this monumental opera during a long stay. The singers are excellently cast, above all a passionately singing Julian Hubbard as Parsifal and Tomas Tomasson embodies Amfortas superbly as a glorified prophet figure. “Graham Vick strips Parsifal of mysticism to deliver a powerful indictment of divisive ideologies” (Musical America); “Julian Hubbard as Parsifal is a sensation” (neue musikzeitung)

Rossini Opera Festival 2016: Il Turco in Italia

The performance of Il turco in Italia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro is presented as a totally renewed production. With references to films of the iconic film director Federico Fellini “Davide Livermore brought it all together adding the perfect physical comic schtick that matched up perfectly with the musical pace of Rossini’s masterpiece – it was spectacular” (Opera Today). “Obviously the brilliant outcome of the performance is also due to Speranza Scapucci’s conducting, well prepared and highly talented, …” (Il Resto del Carlino Pesaro). The cast featuring Erwin Schrott, “who manages the most intricate colloratura effortlessly with his agile, beautiful bass- baritone…” (General-Anzeiger) and Olga Peretyatko being “the ideal cast” (Das Opernglas) made it a marvellous performance.

Il crepuscolo dei sogni

Music from operas by Henry Purcell, Verdi, Monteverdi, by Richard Strauss and Rossini, by Boito and other composers from over 200 years of music history. A so-called pastiche opera. The conductor is Omer Meir Wellber and the director is Johannes Erath. Soprano Carmen Giannattasio, baritone Markus Werba and bass Alexandros Stavrakakis sing on stage and in the stalls. The new season of Palermo’s Teatro Massimo opens with a completely new form of musical theatre. An opera vision – without a plot that is concrete at first glance, explains director Johannes Erath: “But of course there is a common thread. Not in the narrative sense, in the storytelling sense, but it’s more of an emotional journey, like a rollercoaster of emotions.” PRESS “A hymn to the empathic magnificence of opera” (La Repubblica) / “An unprecedented opening” (La Repubblica Palermo)

Otello

Gioachino Rossini’s Otello returns to the place of ist premiere 200 years ago in the inspired staging of director Amos Gitai at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. The stellar vocal cast is led by John Osborn, who shines in the highly difficult title role, and Nino Machaidze as outstanding Desdemona. Gabriele Ferro conducts the flawless orchestra and chorus of the Teatro San Carlo. An Otello that “evokes modern dramas” (Formiche) with “standing ovations for Machaidze and Osborn!” (Corriere del mezzogiorno)

Prometeo

Punished for stealing the fire from the gods to bring the light of science and art to men, Prometheus has to endure darkness. In Luigi Nono’s “tragedy of listening” Prometeo the hero’s fate and his inner conflicts are transformed into a deeply impressive listening experience with the help of a fascinating spatial sound concept. It comes into its own in a rare staging at the spectacular Baroque cultural monument Teatro Farnese, conducted by Marco Angius. “A fascinating journey through sound!” (Gazzetta di Parma)

Ricciardo e Zoraide

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the premiere of the Rossini rarity, the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro stages “Ricciardo e Zoraide” with an all-star cast. Juan Diego Flórez makes his debut as the crusader Ricciardo, giving a “masterclass in bel canto” (Bachtrack). Pretty Yende – “radiant and richly expressive” (Financial Times) as Zoraide – proves that she is “a virtuosa in Rossini singing” (Neue Musikzeitung).