The Teatro alla Scala has announced a cast change for its production of “Don Carlo.” The company noted that Michele Pertusi will replace René Pape in the role of Filippo II. Pertusi recently sang Don Carlo in Modena and Piacenza. He also opened the Teatro San Carlo’s 2022-23 season in a new production of the opera. This season he is set {…}
(Credit: Illustrazione di Pierpaolo Gaballo) The Festival Verdi is set to present Verdi’s fourth opera “I Lombardi alla prima Crociata.” After 14 years the work will be presented on Sept 21 through Oct. 15, 2023. The new production will be directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi with lighting design by Massimo Gasparon and choreography by Marco Berriel. Francesco Lanzillotta conducts the Filarmonica {…}
(Photo: ©SF Marco Borrelli) It is believed that there are no bad orchestras, just bad conductors. Following this rationale, Marco Armiliato conducting my high school orchestra in David Gefffen Hall would be greeted with rave reviews. It is not that he wrung water out of stones—this miracle belongs exclusively to Moses’s staff. But, he did lead Salzburg’s Mozarteum Orchestra to {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced details for Placido Domingo’s gala on August 6, 2023. The concert will showcase Domingo alongside Giulia Mazzola, Jessica Pratt, Daria Rybak, Mariangela Sicilia, Yusif Eyvazov, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, and Michele Pertusi. Francesco Ivan Ciampa conducts. The program will feature works by Leoncavallo, Francesco Cilea, Umberto Giordano, Giuseppe Verdi, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Gerónimo Giménez, Leonard Bernstein, Franz Léhar, Giacomo Puccini, and Pablo Sorozábal. The gala {…}
(Credit: Simone-Falcetta) The Teatro Regio di Torino is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a gala performance of “I Vespri Siciliani” on July 6, 2023. The gala will see Riccardo Frizza conduct the Verdi work with soloists Roberta Mantegna, Piero Pretti, Vladimir Stoyanov, and Michele Pertusi. In a statement, Frizza noted, “It’s an honor to be conducting the Gala Concert, {…}
The Teatri di Reggio Emilia has announced its 2023-24 season. Michele Pertusi, Piero Pretti, Ernesto Petti, Ramaz Chikviladze, Anna Pirozzi, Teresa Romano, Andrea Pellegrini, Michela Antenucci, and Andrea Galli star in Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” Jordi Bernàcer conducts the production by Joseph Franconi-Lee. Performance Dates: Nov. 17-19, 2023 Gregory Kunde, Luca Micheletti, and Francesca Dotto star in Verdi’s “Otello“ with Leonardo Sini {…}
The opening night of the 100th Verona Arena Opera Festival will be broadcast live on Rai1 by Rai Cultura on June 16, 2023 at 9 p.m. local time. The new production of Verdi’s “Aida,” directed by Stefano Poda, will star Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Olesya Petrova, Roman Burdenko, and Michele Pertusi. Marco Armiliato conducts. “The audience will be greeted with {…}
The Teatro Municipale di Piacenza has announced its 2023-24 season. The season opens with Verdi’s “Otello” starring Gregory Kunde, Luca Micheletti, Antonio Mandrillo, and Francesca Dotto. Leonardo Sini conducts the production by Italo Nunziata. Performance Dates: Dec. 11-17, 2023 Carmela Remigio sings the title role of Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena” alongside Arianna Vendittelli, Luigi De Donato, Ruzil Gatin, and Paola Gardina. Diego Fasolis conducts the {…}
There is no shortage of good and, sometimes, exceptional recordings of Puccini’s “Turandot,” with aficionados generally swaying between Molinari-Pradelli’s studio release (with Franco Corelli and Birgit Nilsson) and Mehta’s landmark take from 1972. Add to this Franco Ghione and, in excerpts, Barbirolli’s visceral “Turandots” from the pre-war period, and nearly all aspects of Puccini’s swan song – from the ritualistic {…}
The Osterfestspiele Salzburg has announced its 2024 season. The season will feature the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir. Antonio Pappano. Sir. Antonio Pappano will conduct the rarely performed Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda“ for the first time at the Easter Festival. The new production by British director Oliver Mears will star Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, and Luca Salsi. In a {…}
The New National Theatre Tokyo has announced the programming for its 2023-24 season. The season will open with a new production of Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” presented with Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les Sortileges.” This double bill will be led by conductor Numajiri Ryusuke and director Aguni Jun, with a cast featuring Chiara Isotton, Marianna Pizzolato, Chloe Briot, and Saito Junko. Performance {…}