At the Teatro Regio di Parma, director Valentina Carrasco centres her interpretation of this early, seldomly performed Verdi opera around the horse: “The horror of armed conflict passes through the presence of horses, used by soldiers, petted and cared for, but also killed and disfigured, a symbol of those who pay the price of war without ever having started it or wanting to” (Connessi all’Opera). The cast is excellent, above all Marina Rebeka as Lida with “precise virtuosity” (Connessi all’Opera) and Antonio Poli as Arrigo, who “portrays a sensitive, human hero” with a “robust, full voice” (GB Opera). The young conductor Diego Ceretta at the helm of the Orchestra of the Teatro Communale di Bologna delivers a clear interpretation of the score as he sets a “pressing narrative structure” and highlights “the many timbral and harmonic details” of the music (Teatro). The true star of the production is the Chorus of the Teatro Communale di Bologna, which convinces with “volume, roundness, and beauty of sound” (GBOpera).
Pique Dame
As one of the highlights of the Holland Festival 2016, renowned director Stefan Herheim staged Tchaikovsky’s much-loved opera about a young man who, for the prospect of earthly wealth, gambles away his chance for love and happiness. Herheim gives an exciting visualisation of how Tchaikovsky’s unspeakable homosexuality and passion rises through the music to the surface of the story of gambling and love. The life he has acted and forfeited is played out against the drama. Mariss Jansons returned to Amsterdam to conduct Pique Dame with “his” Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He encounters a noteworthy cast, including star tenor Misha Didyk, a sought after interpreter of the Russian repertoire, who was making his Amsterdam debut in the role of Herman. The critics agree about the production’s quality: “A Pique Dame of extraordinary musical and scenical power” (Avant-Scène Opéra), which it is “absolutely worth seeing!” (Die Welt).
La Traviata
Hugo De Ana’s larger-than-life production of La Traviata is “compelling…a triumph,” (Opera Critic) when it fills the stage at the Arena di Verona, Italy. Albanian lyric soprano Ermonela Jaho, hailed as a “revelation” in the role of Violetta, is paired with Sardinian tenor Francesco Demuro as her impassioned lover, Alfredo.
Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece Rigoletto – compelling, blood-curdling and beautiful – is being performed for the first time on the Bregenz lake stage. The stage director and designer Philipp Stölzl, known for his successful productions at Salzburg Festival as well as music videos for the German band Rammstein, highlights the striking contrasts between spectacle and intimate chamber drama in his production of Verdi’s opera. “Breathtaking, tight and thrilling arrangement, extremely beautiful. Philipp Stölzl delivers a
superlative Rigoletto to Bregenz lake stage.” (Frankfurter Rundschau Online) “The performance of the three main characters has been outstanding.” (Der Standard Online) “Rigoletto becomes a Hollywood spectacle on Lake Constance.” (Handelsblatt) “Nothing but a sensation.” (SWR 2)
Pique Dame
Former Music Director Mariss Jansons returns to Amsterdam to conduct Pique Dame at the Dutch National Opera with “his” Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He encounters a noteworthy cast and under his baton the orchestra sounds “brilliant and splendid“ (Der Tagesspiegel). Renowned director Stefan Herheim staged Tchaikovsky’s much-loved opera about a young man who, for the prospect of earthly wealth, gambles away his chance for love and happiness. Herheim, whose stagings are famous for their multi layered levels of interpretation, attempts to reflect on the composer’s hidden love for men. “The Latvian maestro, the intriguingly performing orchestra, the smartly-chosen soloists, and director Stefan Herheim have succeeded in staging an extraordinary production” (Die Presse). “Stefan Herheim makes a great picture show out of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pique Dame’” (NMZ). “A masterpiece” (Der Standard).
Tutto Verdi – The Operas Vol. 3, 1855 – 1893
Tutto Verdi – The Operas Vol. 2, 1847 – 1853
La forza del destino
TUTTO VERDI – this edition to mark the Verdi bicentenary sets standards by which all similar projects will be judged. It includes all twenty-six operas by the greatest Italian stage composer, together with his immortal Requiem, all of them in definitive performances. “This is how Verdi should be played” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on TUTTO VERDI
For La forza del destino, Verdi created one of his most famous melodies, the “fate” motif that permeates the whole of the score. Music and action alternate in masterly fashion between large-scale crowd scenes and intimate interiority, in that way illustrating Verdi’s real theme: the manner in which fallible human beings are destroyed by a cruel fate.
La Traviata
TUTTO VERDI – this edition to mark the Verdi bicentenary sets standards by which all similar projects will be judged. It includes all twenty-six operas by the greatest Italian stage composer, together with his immortal Requiem, all of them in definitive performances. “This is how Verdi should be played” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on TUTTO VERDI
La traviata is Verdi’s most popular opera and one of the best loved of all stage works. Romance, tragedy and unforgettable tunes – this opera has it all. But modern audiences have largely lost sight of the fact that its plot was altogether unprecedented at the time of the work’s composition: with the tale of a highclass prostitute dying of consumption, Verdi raised his fondness for daring subjects to a whole new level.
Un ballo in maschera
TUTTO VERDI – this edition to mark the Verdi bicentenary sets standards by which all similar projects will be judged. It includes all twenty-six operas by the greatest Italian stage composer, together with his immortal Requiem, all of them in definitive performances. “This is how Verdi should be played” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on TUTTO VERDI
In 1792 King Gustaf III of Sweden was shot at a masked ball, and this was the starting point for Verdi’s
Un ballo in maschera. But before the opera could be performed in Rome in 1859, the composer had to deal with a whole series of problems with the censor. It was only when the action was moved to Boston and all reference to real-life figures removed that the work could be launched on its triumphant career.