Photo: Michele Crosera In 1707, Händel arrived in Rome and soon made the acquaintance of important members of the papacy, including Cardinal Benedetto Pamphilj, from whom he received his first major libretto, “Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno.” Because public performances of operas in Rome had been forbidden by papal ban in 1703, Handel made this an oratorio. Although {…}
(Photo: Zani-Casadio) The rehabilitation of Vivaldi’s operas continues apace. Over the past five or six years, the number of performances of his works has soared so that productions, which would have only recently been classed as welcome but rare events, are now becoming increasingly common. At least, that is the case in Italy and one or two other countries. It {…}
The Teatro Municipale di Piacenza has announced its 2019-20 season featuring a number of new productions and one world premiere. Opera Maria Teresa Leva, Lucrezia Drei, Azer Zada, Francesco Cascione, Stefano Marchisio, and Maharram Huseynov star in Puccini’s “La Bohème.” The opera, which opens the season, is set to be conducted by Aldo Sisillo with legendary baritone Leo Nucci directing the new production. Performance {…}