(Photo: Studio UV – Fondazione Teatro Donizetti ) When one thinks of Donizetti, one immediately thinks of opera: sparkling comedies or intense melodramas. Yet it must be remembered that Donizetti also composed, almost furtively, a large number of intimate, inventive, exquisitely crafted songs. These pieces reveal an introspective and confessional version of him, endowed with a surprisingly wide expressive palette. {…}
Raising a child is a complicated process. Raising a prodigious one is absolutely unforeseen and fraught with constant error, for no ordinary laws apply here. The Donizetti Festival in Bergamo, although still an officious event, always seemed to be this prodigy for me, every year somehow attempting to prove that Donizetti’s music might be the center of the opera world. {…}
Who could outshine the great Javier Camarena singing “La Favorite” on the stage of the famous Donizetti festival? A consummate master of Bel Canto, singing the role of the head-over-heels-in-love novice, leaving the monastery to meet the woman of his dreams. Ah, we were certainly hooked on it. And yet, this year in Bergamo, the audience had to prepare to {…}
(Credits Gianfranco Rota) This year’s edition of the Donizetti Opera Festival is yet another perfect example of how much diversity there can be in the repertoire of one great Italian composer. As with every previous year, as I looked at the line-up of three operas chosen for the festival, I was left wondering which one was going to be the {…}
Placido Domingo has canceled his participation at the Donizetti Opera Festival. The festival announced that due to health concerns, Domingo is unable to travel to Italy for the upcoming concert performances of “Belisario.” However, he is now scheduled to appear in an upcoming edition. As a result, Roberto Frontali will sing the title role. Frontali is a well-known baritone who {…}
The Donizetti Opera has announced a cast and program change. The festival announced Carmela Remigio will take over the role of Antonina in “Belisario,” replacing Davinia Rodriguez. Remigio is no stranger to the festival having performed in the its productions of “Il Castello di Kenilworth,” “Lucrezia Borgia” and “Anna Bolena.” She joins a cast that includes Plácido Domingo, Annalisa Stroppa, {…}
On July 26, 2019, Spanish tenor Xabier Anduaga (along with fellow competitor Adriana Gonzalez) achieved one of opera’s most coveted distinctions as he joined the circle of Operalia 1st Prize winners. The Operalia competition has been transforming talented young singers into stars of the opera scene since 1993, with winners frequently becoming headliners at top venues across the globe. This {…}