On Dec. 23, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino will open a new production of “Fidelio” with an all-star cast. The production will feature some of the best interpreters of the work and some new to his repertoire, none perhaps moreso than Italian soprano Francesca Aspromonte.

Following years of singing baroque music, Aspromonte take on Marzelline in Beethoven’s only opera. The role will mark her return to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where audiences last heard her in Handel’s “Rinaldo” in 2020. As the soprano herself noted in a recent interview with OperaWire, she wants to sing a more diverse repertoire like Mozart and Bel Canto works and Marzelline will off an opportunity for audiences to see her in a different light.

Aspromonte’s career has taken her to Carnegie Hall, Teatro La Fenice, Théâtre de Champs Elysees,  Opéra Royal de Versailles, Theatre an der Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Teatro Real de Madrid, among others.

Among the many works she has become well known for are the title role in Cavalli’s “Erismena,” Euridice in Luigi Rossi’s “L’Orfeo,” the title role in Caldara’s “Dafne,” Angelica in Vivaldi’s “Orlando furioso,” and the title role in Caldara’s “La Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo,” among others.

She recently signed an exclusive contract with PENTATONE and teaches interpretation of the Italian baroque repertoire at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

For those not in Florence for the upcoming “Fidelio,” Aspromonte will tour through Malta, France, and Russia this season performing music by Vivaldi and Handel.

Recordings 

The soprano has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony DHM, Alpha Classics, Christophorus, Harmonia Mundi, Ricercare, and HDB Sonus. Among her recordings include her solo albums “Prologue” and “Maria & Maddalena” and a DVD of “Rinaldo” from the Maggio Musical Fiorentino.

Here she is performing from “L’Incoronazione di Poppea.”

Here is a track from her debut solo album “Prologue.”