It’s the beginning of the year and there is one major release that will be intriguing for all Verdi fans who aren’t familiar with this work. Here’s a look!

Stiffelio 

Naxos is releasing Verdi’s rarely performed work from the Verdi Festival in Parma with a distinguished cast that includes Luciano Ganci in the title role and Maria Katzarava in the role of Lina. The new production was directed by Graham Vick with Guillermo Garcia Calvo conducting. Francesco Landolfi rounds out the cast.

When the production opened at the festival critics raved and said “Tenor Luciano Ganci gives a nuanced and layered reading of Stiffelio,” while “rich voiced soprano Maria Katzarava’s erotically-charged Lina made it easy to believe in the magnetic power the character exerts over the priest.”

Vick’s production was also hailed for its ambition and for allowing Verdi’s music to speak for it’s self.

Naxos plans an international release before a U.S. release.