Juan Diego Florez will headline the 2018 Rossini Opera Festival with a new production of “Ricciardo e Zoraide.” The production will mark the tenor’s return to the festival and will mark yet another Rossini role debut. Florez will be joined by Pretty Yende and will be conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti. Marshall Pynkoski will direct the new production.Florez has performed at the Pesaro Festival for the past 20 years where he has sung such opera’s as “William Tell,” “Matilde di Shabran,” “Le Comte Ory,” and “La Donna del Lago.”
Da Ponte & Friends
Da Ponte and Friends takes audiences on a journey through the life of Lorenzo Da Ponte, highlighting his pivotal role in introducing Italian opera to America. The show explores the diverse worlds Da Ponte inhabited: the court of Vienna, revolutionary Europe, and the birth of the New World. Through his collaborations with Mozart, Salieri, and others, Da Ponte’s work bridges the classical and the revolutionary, connecting the past with the present. Conceived by Claudio Orazi and Francesco Zimei, this project honors Mozart’s legacy and beyond, featuring the Carlo Felice Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Alvise Casellati, with soloists Salome Jicia (soprano), Giovanni Sala (tenor), and Levent Bakirci (baritone). Actor Giampiero Judica narrates as Da Ponte, bringing to life the librettist’s memoirs. The performance includes famous arias from operas by Da Ponte, Mozart, Salieri, Martín y Soler, and others, showcasing both beloved and rarely heard works
A Johann Strauss Celebration – The Wiener Symphoniker in Trieste
For decades, the Wiener Symphoniker has welcomed spring with a bouquet of lively melodies. This edition goes international as the orchestra and chief conductor Petr Popelka ring in the season in Trieste with works by Johann Strauss, the composer of the year, but also pieces by Franz Lehár, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Erich Korngold.
Armonie dello spirito in Florence
Armonie dello spirito in Rome
A concert in honor of the 85th birthday of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. The Cappella Musicale Pontificia “Sistina” is one of the oldest and most prestigious musical institutions the “Choir of the Pope”. Under the direction of Massimo Palombella they perform some concerts of the most beautiful and most popular composers of sacred music; from Gregorian chant to the Kyrie and Gloria Papae Marcelli di Palestrina. A highlight of the evening is also the premiere of “here est Operatus” by Lorenzo Perosi. This is a new piece of the great composer, found recently in historical archives.
Tormenti e dolce oblio – The Venetian Concert
Repertoire: Claudio Monteverdi, Tempro la cetra (Libro VII dei madrigali) / Claudio Monteverdi, Voglio di vita uscir (Scherzi muiscali) / Benedetto Ferrari, Voglio di vita uscir (Musiche varie a voce sola, libro II) / Francesco Cavalli, Scene dall’Egisto / Claudio Monteverdi, Aria di Ulisse; Dormo ancora (Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria) / Tarquinio Merula, Folle è ben (Madrigali et altri capricci)
The Deadly Sins – Angels and Demons in the works of Claudio Monteverdi
In order to honor the anniversary of Claudio Monteverdi’s (1567- 1643) the ensemble Cappella Mediterranea and their founder Leonardo García Alarcón were given the special permission, to perform in an outstanding venue, the Chiesetta del Doge at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice for an unique musical project: The first performance of Monteverdi’s music in more than 300 years at the Doges chapel, the heart of the old Venetian republic, where Monteverdi was the official court composer. Based on the theme of “Angels and Demons” the ensemble perform extracts from Monteverdi’s opera and madrigal compositions. The half-scenic production is staged by Olivier Lexa, founder and artistic director of the Venetian Centre for Baroque Music. The works, illustrate the contrasts of sins and virtues which are beautifully mirrored in Jacopo Guarana’s and Agostino Colonna’s frescos in the Chiesetta del Doge.
Plácido Domingo Gala – 50 Years at the Arena di Verona
What a pompous and exquisite gala to celebrate opera legend Plácido Domingo in the breathtaking Arena di Verona! 50 years ago the young Madrilenian singer Plácido Domingo gave his debut at the ancient open-air theatre: the beginning of a lasting and exceptional relationship. To mark the anniversary, Domingo presents a programme entirely dedicated to Verdi, performing three of his most complex and majestic baritone roles. No effort was spared to create an unforgettable evening in a unique atmosphere in the completely sold-out amphitheatre, which has been at the heart of Italian entertainment for almost 2,000 years. Whether as Babylonian king Nabucco, Scottish general Macbeth or as Doge Simon Boccanegra: Domingo’s versatility and aura is more than impressive, with “top phrasing and articulation, his baritone with full and sonorous intonation and a unique timbre – all this substantiates his exceptional position” (Das Opernglas). At the side of Domingo shines an excellent cast including Anna Pirozzi and Arturo Chacón-Cruz, supported by a perfectly rehearsed ballet under the baton of conductor Jordi Bernàcer who sovereignly leads the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona from scene to scene. A triumphal, almost historic moment for Domingo and the Arena di Verona!
Beethoven Mass In C Major
Together with the excellent choir and a shining soloist quartet, Omer Meir Wellber reveals the immense expressiveness and novelty of this undeservedly neglected composition by the jubilarian Beethoven. lla Milch-Sheriff’s monodrama “The Eternal Stranger” is followed ‘attacca’ by Beethoven’s Mass in C major.
In Search of Beethoven – Part 1
This four-part program sets out to “search for Beethoven” in the interpretation of his orchestral works. Each episode explores one specific work as it is understood by great conductors and musicians of our day. Sir Georg Solti, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel and Roger Norrington are seen rehearsing passages from Beethoven’s symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Camerata Academica Salzburg. Creating a counterpoint to these sections are excerpts from performances by Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan, as well as historical footage of concerts led by Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini. Also expressing their views are a number of other distinguished musicians such as Pierre Boulez, Claudio Abbado, John Eliot Gardiner and others. A fascinating panorama of contemporary interpretations of Beethoven’s music!