In this interpretation of Verdi’s Macbeth, stage director Christof Loy skillfully navigates the interplay of light and dark, infusing the opera – based on Shakespeare’s work – with remarkable depth and drama. The outstanding vocal ensemble vividly captures the psychological nuances of the characters, featuring Ludovic Tézier as the paranoid Macbeth and Martina Serafin as Lady Macbeth, the mastermind behind the crimes. Giampaolo Bisanti pours his passion into the score, while The Symphony Orchestra and the Liceu Choir deliver exceptional performances in response. Consequently, the audience experiences a flawless blend of lyrics and music, crafted by the Milanese composer, librettist Francesco Maria Piave, and poet Andrea Maffei.
Ernani
Ernani is a gripping drama about love and revenge by Giuseppe Verdi. Written in his unique style it brims with poignant arias, rousing choruses and enthralling ensemble scenes. The rebel leader Ernani recognises his father’s murderer in the Spanish King Carlo and seeks revenge on him. Both men love Elvira – as does old Silva whom she is to be married
to … Director Lotte de Beer and her set and costume designer Christof Hetzer devote themselves to the fictional plot which bears references to the 16th century. They demonstrate their rich scenic imagination in this production, conducted by Enrique Mazzola who “provides musically magic moments at the stand of the Wiener Symphoniker“
(Schwäbische Zeitung). “Great singers, fiery music and an action-packed staging“ (Allgäuer Zeitung). “A mixture of Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ and Monty Python’s ‘The Knights of the Coconut’.” (Deutschlandfunk)
Romeo and Juliette
Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story of all time. In Charles Gounod’s operatic adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona “Saimir Pirgu and Aida Garifullina mesmerize as the tragic lovers.“ (Euronews) Charles Gounod is one of the great representatives of French lyric drama and due to his famous aria “Je veux vivre,” ravishing melodies, magical duets and the unique ballet scene in Act IV, Roméo et Juliette continues to gain much popularity. This production by Stephen Lawless once again demonstrates the abundance of ideas that Shakespeare’s legendary tale is able to inspire, even in the 21st century. In addition to the lavish stage sets and the carefully chosen costumes and props, the production captivates the audience thanks to its refined dramaturgical logic: “Lawless successfully creates a dignified and logical background to the ongoing story […].” (Metropolitan Barcelona)
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).
Festive Gala at the Semperoper Dresden: From Berlin to Broadway – The Golden Twenties
The Semperoper Dresden invites the public into the New Year with songs, hits and operetta classics from Berlin to Broadway: In the festive ambiance of the Semper Opera House, the audience of the New Year’s Eve concert, which have now become a tradition, can expect lively melodies from the “Golden Twenties”. Under the direction of Christian Thielemann, excerpts from “Metropolis” will be heard alongside well-known film hits from the heyday of cinema in the transition from silent to sound film. Berlin as the glorious center of a new, independent operetta era and New York with its Broadway musicals and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, played by Igor Levit, are the musical focal points of the program.
Bregenz Festival 2023: Ernani
Six years before Rigoletto, Giuseppe Verdi had already composed a gripping drama about love and revenge: Ernani – his breakthrough as a composer. The opera was also based on a play by the French author Victor Hugo, whose text inspired Verdi’s unique style with moving arias, stirring choruses and scenes of high drama: Elvira is desired by three men – among them the Spanish king and her old uncle. But she loves the robber Ernani, of all people, who has a score to settle with the king… “As much as this brilliant and precisely executed evening is always one over, it cleverly always moves just below the caricature threshold. Scurrilous drama, bizarre humour and splatter comedy serve only one thing: the unmasking of the guys.” (Münchner Merkur); “A mixture of Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ and Monty Python’s ‘The Knights of the Coconut’.” (Deutschlandfunk)
Mozart Requiem at Arena di Verona
W.A. Mozart’s famous and moving Requiem was performed for the first time in the 2000-year old Arena in Verona. The concert on the impressively designed stage set in the middle of the Arena with the choir standing in a circle around the arena became a collective prayer in an open-air cathedral. Marco Armiliato conducts four excellent soloists and Chorus & Orchestra of the Arena di Verona. The performance of great symbolic impact is dedicated to the victims of the Coronavirus. “An event of great symbolic impact” connessidellopera.it
Verdi, La Traviata
This production from the sumptuous Teatro San Carlo in Naples has two elements that make it different from all Traviatas prdocutions before: It is performed in the full length as Verdi wrote it. Phenomenal young conductor Michele Mariotti disregards the traditional cuts and plays entire work, which allows for better understanding of protagonists’ motivations. Italo-Turk stage director Ferzan Özpetek makes a minor change in the second act, with a major impact: Germont père was once a client of Violetta’s. This casts her relationship with Germont fils in a new light and adds more drama to the narrative. The stage design by Dante Ferretti, winner of three Academy Awards for The Aviator, Sweeney Todd and Hugo, is quoted as “a visually opulent yet strictly conservative affair” (Financial Times).
Rigoletto
The live recording of Giuseppe Verdi‘s “Rigoletto” from Opernhaus Zürich presents the thrilling and dramaturgically highly precise production by stage director Tatjana Gürbaca: The chosen “Director of the Year 2013” by Opernwelt succeeded in producing a scenically reduced as well as expressively poetic production. Acclaimed by press and public alike, the scenic approach is matched by the musical expertise of Fabio Luisi: The general music director of the Opernhaus Zürich and one of the leading interpreters of Italy’s opera repertory conducts the Philharmonia Zurich and outstanding lead soloists George Petean as Rigoletto, Aleksandra Kurzak as Gilda and Saimir Pirgu as the Duke.
La Cambiale di matrimonio
Created by Luigi Squarzina and revived by Giovanno Scandella, with scenes and costumes by Giovanni Agostinacci, this Pesaro production can count on a cast with well-established singers.