(Photo by: Lisa-Marie-Mazzucco)

The Hamburg Staatsoper will present the world premiere of the new opera “Venere e Adone” by Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino from May 28 to June 8, 2023.

The opera will star countertenor Randall Scotting, Layla Claire, Cody Quattlebaum, Matthias Klink, Evan Hughes, Vera Talerko, Nicholas Mogg, and Kady Evanyshyn. Kent Nagano conducts the production directed by Georges Denlon.

Per an official press statement, Sciarrino’s new opera “is loosely based both on Ovid’s Venus and Adonis myth, as well as Shakespeare’s 16th-century poem, ‘Venus and Adonis.’ The story is a sad one, as the beautiful Adonis’ love for Venus proves fatal in the end. When Adonis finds the wild monster whom he has been obsessed with hunting, he is devoured limb-to-limb by the animal in a lust and rage-filled encounter. Venus is bereft at Adonis’ death, and the ancient story ends with the meditation ‘who triumphs, love or death?”

In sum, “Venere e Adone” will get five performances throughout its run.