The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced that the 2024 edition will be the final one for Artistic Director Francesco Micheli. Micheli, who began with the festival in 2015, will oversee the 2024 edition which will be held from Nov. 14 to Dec. 1, 2024. In a statement, Micheli said, “I proudly greet my city and the Donizetti Theater knowing that {…}
With 2024-25 just a month away, OperaWire is breaking down 10 opera productions that are must-sees for all opera lovers from around the world for the fall season. Aindamar – Metropolitan Opera (Oct. 15 – Nov. 9, 2024) For the second year in a row (and the first time in its history that this happens), the Metropolitan Opera will present {…}
The prestigious Premio Abbiati has announced its 2023 winners. The awards, which are decided by critics, saw “La favorite” from the Donizetti Opera Festival win Best Production. Riccardo Frizza conducted and Valentina Carrasco directed. The Special award went to “Le Sonate per pianoforte di Salvatore Sciarrino alla Fabbrica del Vapore,” while the Premio “Roberto Masotti” went to Festival Aperto di {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced the titles for the 2023 season. The festival noted that it will present its annual “LUOpeRave” which will use Donizetti’s music in electronic form. The festival will present “Il diluvio universal” with Music Director Riccardo Frizza conducting the rarely performed work. The cast will include Nahuel Di Pierro, Nicolò Donini, Davide Zaccherini, Eduardo Martínez, Sabrina Gárdez, {…}
(Credit: Michele Monasta) On Nov. 18, the Donizetti Opera Festival will open its 2022 festival with “La Favorite.” The opera is rarely performed but has been a showcase for many mezzo-sopranos in the history of opera. For this new production, Annalisa Stroppa will return to Bergamo and make her role debut as Léonor. The mezzo, who first sang with the {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival is set to present the rarely performed “Chiara e Serafina.” The work, which will receive performances on Nov. 19, 25, and Dec. 4, will be conducted by Sesto Quatrini and will star Pietro Spagnoli alongside soloists of the Academy of specialization for opera singers of Teatro alla Scala. These singers include Matías Moncada, Nicole Wacker, Greta {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced its 2022 edition. The festival will present a new critical edition of “La favorite,” by Rebecca Harris Warrick from Ricordi. Music Director Riccardo Frizza will direct the operatic masterpiece. The production – newly co-produced with the Opéra National de Bordeaux – is directed by Valentina Carrasco with her team composed of Carles Berga and Peter van Praet for set {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival opened its opera performances with a new production of “L’Elisir d’Amore” under the baton of Music Director Riccardo Frizza. The production was a new, critical edition that included a new aria and cabaletta for Adina in Act two as well as additional music, and was played on period instruments in order to reproduce the sound of {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced the three titles for the 2022 edition. The festival, which is set to take place in November and December, will present a new critical edition of “La favorite,” by Rebecca Harris Warrick from Ricordi. Music Director Riccardo Frizza will direct the operatic masterpiece. The second title for the season will be “L’aio nell’imbarazzo” in {…}
Giovanni Simone Mayr was the maestro di Cappella de Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, and a prolific opera composer during the first half of the 19th century. He composed “Medea in Corinto” for Naples in 1813 and premiered a second version in Bergamo in 1821 with Felice Romani rewriting the libretto—Romani being one of the primary librettists of the bel {…}
On Nov. 21, the Donizetti Opera Festival opened a production of “La Fille du Regiment” in a co-production with the Teatro Nacional de Cuba. The result was a colorful show with an incredible cast taking on a new critical edition of the score. The audience approved. A Colorful Production The stage director Luis Ernesto Doñas set the opera in Cuba {…}