(Photo: Brescia & Amisano) One of the more eye-catching works of Teatro La Scala’s current season is Leonardo Vinci’s “Li Zite Ngalera,” which has just finished a run of five performances. Vinci was born between 1690 and 1696 in Italy’s Calabria region but was dead by 1730, possibly poisoned by a jealous husband. Yet during his short life, he was {…}
(Photo: Nicola Dal Maso) Francesca Aspromonte’s first solo album, released on the Pentatone label in 2018, explored the Italian 17thcentury opera prologue, with music from a variety of composers including Cavalli, Stradella, and A. Scarlatti. Accompanied by the Il Pomo D’Oro ensemble under the direction of Enrico Onofri, the recording proved itself to be an excellent showcase for the young {…}
The Teatro Filarmonico announced its 2022 season featuring several new productions and rarely performed works. Here is a look. The company will present Wolf-Ferrari’s “Il segreto di Susanna” and Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” in a double bill. Gianna Fratta conducts the new production by Federica Zagatti Wolf-Ferrari and Giorgia Guerra. Vittorio Prato and Lavinia Bini star in Wolf-Ferrari’s opera while Donata D’Annunzio {…}
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 {…}
The Festival Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca, Italy has announced its 47 edition with the theme “Fiat lux.” The festival which will be held between July 17 and August 5 will feature international stars from around the world. Operas Haydn’s “The Creation” will be conducted by Fabio Luisi and will feature Vassily Solodkyy, Alessio Arduini, Jan Antem, and Sabrina Sanza. Fabio {…}
Serse’s short aria, “Ombra mai fu,” in which he passionately addresses a plane tree, may be the most famous aria from Handel’s opera “Serse,” but is it the most significant moment in the work? Certainly, an argument could be made for it being the case, as it establishes from the outset Seres’s strong, but superficial emotional response to the world {…}