Opera and Ballet Season OPERA VINCIT OMNIA PRESS RELEASE

Transcription

1 Opera and Ballet Season OPERA VINCIT OMNIA PRESS RELEASE Teatro Regio s Opera and Ballet Season proposes 14 titles: 11 operas, one of which is an absolute première for the modern age, and 3 dance events, including Roberto Bolle s return. This playbill that stems from a renewed artistic project presents famous masterpieces that are a must in the artistic life of an opera hall. Teatro Regio s new season features William Graziosi as Superintendent and Alessandro Galoppini as Art Director. William Graziosi created the Pergolesi Spontini Foundation and is its Deputy Chairman, Managing Director and Executive Director. In 2001 he launched the namesake Festival, an international event designed to rediscover and make the most of the music scores of the two composers from the Marches. Over the past twenty years the Pergolesi Spontini Festival has witnessed the participation of famous musicians, such as Claudio Abbado, Fabio Biondi, Ottavio Dantone, Salvatore Accardo, Viktoria Mullova and Sonya Yoncheva, just to mention a few. He also started the National Italian Edition of the Works of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, supporting research in the field of musicology, professional training and the dissemination of culture. The prestigious artistic proposals have won the Foundation three Abbiati Awards. In 2005 he was appointed Managing Director of the Foundation, organising both the Pergolesi Spontini Festival and the artistic schedule of Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi, a Traditional Lyrical Theatre. Both initiatives are acknowledged and supported by FUS. Graziosi also organised celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. His various appointments include Production Coordinator of the Baltimore Opera Company, in the United States; Art and Organisational Consultant of the National Theatre in Belgrade; Deputy Superintendent, Art Director and Director of the International Relations Office of the Opera House in Astana, Kazakhstan; and Consultant of the Victorian State Opera, Melbourne. Ministerial Decree of 2 May 2018 appointed him Superintendent of Teatro Regio in Turin. Alessandro Galoppini, conductor and composer, has been employed by the Regio since 1990, and has been it Art Director since Professor at the G. Verdi School of Music, Turin, and assistant of leading conductors both in Italy and abroad, he developed his artistic personality at the Regio. A connoisseur of vocal performances and member of the jury for

2 leading international song contests, Galoppini has now organised his first Season as Art Director. The new playbill focuses on famous masterpieces, some of which have long been absent from the stage of the Regio. Hence the opportunity to appreciate works that are now both a legend and part of history, treasured in the heart of every spectator. The ideal starting point to access the wonderful world of opera. An ideal playlist that includes the fab four of lyrics: Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi, and again the two fathers who consolidated the predominance of Italian opera in the world in the 1900s, namely Giacomo Puccini and Pietro Mascagni. An absolute première in the modern age endows the Season with a precious touch, Agnese by Ferdinando Päer, a semiserious drama of 1809, a masterpiece to be rediscovered, a gem of musical production of the 1700s and 1800s that deeply affected the next generation of opera singers. The Season closes with the first performance at the Regio of Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin s last theatrical masterpiece. For dance, besides the comeback of Roberto Bolle and Friends, the playbill includes Romeo e Giulietta by Sergej Prokof ev with the Perm State Opera and Ballet, and another absolute première, La giara, created by Compagnia Zappalà Danza with music by Alfredo Casella. For the first time the Regio proposes, during the same Season, Verdi s popular trilogy: Rigoletto, Trovatore and Traviata, titles that embody the essence of melodrama. Ten years of successful tours abroad, the many records produced and the continuous artistic growth alongside world famous artists have established the Regio, its Orchestra and Chorus as the most authoritative Italian depositary of the highest standards of the country s musical tradition. A genuine Italian opera season of famous classics produced by an Italian theatre with Italian sound, studied to revive the taste and passion for the bel canto, for beauty and for the culture we represent. Aware of these prerogatives, we offer our public the best Season that can be imagined, with well-loved titles, which are challenging for this very reason. The Season is proposed as a return to the origins, to the magnificent and celebrated repertoire is the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Our cultural legacy is the opera, which plays and must play a leading role; hence, it is our duty to preserve this immense and precious heritage. Pinchas Steinberg, a highly acclaimed conductor with consolidated experience developed on the podium of leading European orchestras, will open the Season on 10 October with Il trovatore (performances until 23 October), the cornerstone of all Italian romantic melodrama, the iconic music score by Giuseppe Verdi. It has not been performed in our theatre for thirteen years. The Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Regio, trained for the entire Season by Andrea Secchi, the new Chorus Director, persevere in the demanding process of studying and interpreting Verdi s famous music scores. Stage Director Paul Curran underscores the political element of the drama with costumes recalling the 1800s and large choruses portraying the patriots of the Risorgimento, in a scene dominated by a huge modular staircase. Conte di Luna is played by Massimo Cavalletti, Leonora by Saioa Hernández, Azucena by Anna Maria Chiuri and Manrico, il trovatore, is Diego Torre. Stage fittings come from the Municipal Theatre of Bologna. On November we shall stage L elisir d amore by Gaetano Donizetti. Michele Gamba, thirty-four, a Milanese musician, will make his début on the podium of the

3 Orchestra and Chorus of the Regio. Trained under the guidance of Daniel Barenboim and Antonio Pappano, he is one of the most appreciated conductors of the new generation. The delicate love story between Adina and Nemorino, coloured by malice, tenderness and irony, unfolds in the backdrop of a fresh and genuine world of farmers, with stage fittings by Fabio Sparvoli that refer to the Italian post-war period, which was charged with trust and a positive approach. In this edition, Adina is played by Lavinia Bini, a young soprano who has already won the approval of both public and critics with her interpretations of bel canto masterpieces. Nemorino is performed by Giorgio Berrugi, Belcore is Julian Kim, while the friendly barker who sells bordeaux wine as a powerful love drink is Roberto de Candia. On December Donato Renzetti will conduct La traviata from the podium of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Regio. Stage Director Henning Brockhaus with scenes by Josef Svoboda. These legendary stage fittings impressed collective imagination for the first time at the Regio. Also known as La Traviata degli specchi, the opera explores the subtle border between the intimate and delicate nature of Violetta and her public image, portrayed by a huge tilted mirror that multiplies, from all directions, the object of desire of the voyeur s eye. Violetta is Maria Grazia Schiavo, a refined and elegant artist, Alfredo has the voice of Dmytro Popov, while Giorgio Germont is played by Giovanni Meoni. A familiar figure at the Regio, Roberto Bolle returns to our Theatre on December with the much longed for new edition of Roberto Bolle and Friends. The Dance Gala that has deeply impressed audiences worldwide is a unique occasion to admire the leading stars of the current ballet scene performing on the same evening and on the same stage. A journey into the beauty of dance, an absolute must. Roberto Bolle, the first dancer in the world to concurrently be Étoile of Teatro alla Scala and Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theatre of New York, returns to the Regio for the fourth time. This appointment has now become a classic, much awaited and desired by thousands of fans. On January we propose Madama Butterfly produced by Sferisterio from Macerata. Butterfly, the protagonist of Puccini s masterpiece, as delicate as a butterfly s wings, is interpreted by Karah Son. Pinkerton is Vincenzo Costanzo and Sharpless is Simone Del Savio. Daniel Oren s return to the podium of the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Regio is highly appreciated. A widely acknowledged artist, Oren has worked in the most prestigious theatres in the world. Stage direction, scenes and costumes are by Pierluigi Pizzi, who is back at the Regio twelve years after his last production. The refined stage fittings place Butterfly in a Japan that is neither oleographic nor folkloristic. It is presented as a poetic memory of a country evoked with melancholy. Pizzi considers the death of Butterfly as a challenge to bourgeois morals, and as the statement of a strong personality that defends her beliefs to the very end. On 6-17 February Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi will be presented with new stage fittings at Teatro Regio, a co-production with Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Shaanxi Opera House and Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège. Rigoletto is played by famous Carlos Álvarez, Gilda is Ruth Iniesta and the Duke of Mantova is Stefan Pop, with conductor Renato Palumbo. John Turturro makes his début in the opera world as Stage Director. An actor from New York with Italian roots, he has recited in more than 70 movies by leading film

4 directors, such as Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Francesco Rosi and the Coen brothers. On March the new fittings of the opera Agnese by Ferdinando Paër ( ) will awaken the curiosity of the audience and the attention of critics around this title, which is proposed for its modern première. Born in Parma, the composer completed the opera in 1809 to inaugurate Count Fabio Scotti s private theatre. Hence the creation of a perfectly balanced masterpiece in terms of style, a magnificent example of classicism and precursor of the age of Rossini. It spread rapidly in theatres worldwide, acclaimed by composers, such as Berlioz and Chopin. Agnese was a success in all theatres in Europe. Napoleon himself appreciated Paër to the point of appointing him Compositeur de la musique de la chambre impériale and Compositeur et directeur de la musique particulière, the Emperor s Private Music Manager. Diego Fasolis is back on the podium of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Regio, and Leo Muscato is Stage Director. On March Pinocchio will be staged at the Regio. The opera is freely inspired by the famous fable by Collodi, with music by Pierangelo Valtinoni, libretto by Paolo Madron and stage direction by Luca Valentino. Valtinoni is the living Italian composer who is most performed in the world after Sciarrino. His Pinocchio is a masterpiece, an international success that is regularly performed in Berlin, Moscow, Vienna, Leipzig, Munich and Madrid. The performance, which is particularly indicated for little ones, is the first to be launched by Progetto Opera Assieme. The stage of the Regio welcomes the young talents of tomorrow with a very high standard playbill that requires lead singers and most orchestra members to be screened by means of a national competition that will be published on the website of the Teatro. The opera, proposed in partnership with the Giuseppe Verdi School of Music, Turin, will also involve the Orchestra of the Regio and the Chorus of treble voices of both the Regio and the School of Music. On April the stage of the Regio will witness the return of La sonnambula by Vincenzo Bellini after more than twenty years. The protagonist of the opera is Ekaterina Sadovnikova, with Elvino played by Antonino Siragusa and Rodolfo by Nicola Uliveri. Maurizio Benini conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Regio in this delicate music score enhanced by pastel hues. Stage direction by Mauro Avogadro. The fittings of the Regio, a coproduction with Teatro La Fenice of Venice, create a suspended, rarefied setting that is at times only outlined or suggested, and where the only defined reality is the purity of Amina and Elvino s song. On 3-8 May we shall host, for the first time, the Perm State Opera and Ballet in their performance of the masterpiece by Prokof ev: Romeo e Giulietta, with the Orchestra of the Regio conducted by Artëm Abašev. Choreography is by Kenneth MacMillan, who revolutionised classical dance by strengthening expressive language with the resources of the contemporary theatre. This legendary production will be performed at the Regio by a famous Russian company: the Perm State Opera and Ballet, which includes 90 male and female dancers. It has expertly converged the legacy of the Russian School and placed it at the service of the great choreographies designed by Balanchine, Robbins or Ashton. Again, on May the Regio will present the smile and high spirits of Gioachino Rossini with L italiana in Algeri. Alessandro De Marchi, acclaimed conductor in leading

5 international theatres and much appreciated by the Philharmonic of Paris and at the Salzburg Festival, will make his appearance once again on the podium of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Regio for one of the most hilarious musical scores of the genius from Pesaro. The cast includes: Carlo Lepore (Mustafà), Paolo Bordogna (Taddeo) and Sara Blanch (Elvira). Stage fittings at the Regio are directed by Vittorio Borrelli, who clearly underscores the organised and complete folly quoting Stendhal that pervades the entire music score. On June we shall present an entirely Mediterranean diptych: the absolute première of the choreographic creation of La giara by Pirandello with music by Alfredo Casella, performed by Roberto Zappalà and Compagnia Zappalà Danza. That same evening Cavalleria rusticana, the masterpiece by Pietro Mascagni will be staged with new fittings directed by Gabriele Lavia, renowned actor and playwright, with scenes and costumes by Paolo Ventura, the artist who revolutionised contemporary photography. Established in 1990, Compagnia Zappalà Danza is today considered by European critics as one of the most interesting Italian contemporary dance associations. The Sicilian ensemble stands out for an extensive and articulated language that has been encoded and named MoDem over the years. Cavalleria rusticana, melodrama in one act that was performed for the first time in 1890, tells the bloody story of Santuzza, Turiddu and Alfio, interpreted at the Regio by three outstanding lyrical artists: Daniela Barcellona, Carlo Ventre and Marco Vratogna. Andrea Battistoni is back on the podium of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Regio, both for the ballet and for the opera. On 2-7 July the Season will draw to a close with the theatrical masterpiece by George and Ira Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, in the only production authorised by the Gershwin family, with the Orchestra of the Regio and Soloists and Chorus of the New York Harlem Theatre conducted by William Barkhymer. Defined by Gershwin himself as American folk opera, Porgy and Bess describes the life of African-Americans in an imaginary street called Catfish Row, in Charleston, in the early 1930s. This typical setting is chosen as the backdrop for some of the most extraordinary pages in the history of music: Summertime, I Got Plenty o Nuttin, It Aint Necessarily So. Radio broadcasts and videos: all the operas of the Season will be broadcast live over the radio as a result of the consolidated partnership with Rai-Radio3. The Theatre s intensive recording activity will include other new productions that are currently being defined. This Season, thus articulated with its cultural proposals, offers several symphonic concerts in the parallel Season I Concerti, that will be presented in September The Regio s long-standing commitment towards young members of the public is implemented with new proposals for Season Tickets and for reduced price tickets. Young adults, the under 30s, may purchase two special Season Tickets for three titles with a 40% discount; and the promotional offer 18App at 25 continues for those aged 18 years. Focus on the creativity of youth is highlighted by the image of the new Season, designed by Chiara Cordopatri, architect and designer, winner of the first competition Un Opera per il Regio held for all artists under 35 in Italy. An initiative organised with the Patronage and partnership of GAI (Young Italian Artists Circuit Association), with the participation of more than sixty young creatives. The public that, instead, already knows us and follows us with passion, will

6 find the prices unchanged, compared to last year, both for the tickets and for Season Tickets, with an additional Season Ticket offer for the Trilogia verdiana at a 15% discount. The Season Ticket for Series A is confirmed for Under 30s, with a 65% discount. Ordinary Season Tickets can be renewed already from 19 June and up to 27 July, while the new Season Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office on 6-21 September. For Roberto Bolle and Friends, ticket sales will commence on 14 July. The genuine wealth of the Regio is, and has always been, the human legacy, its workers and its public. The Opera, the form of art we create and which we believe in, is an eternal value. The Theatre s new top management is continuing and strengthening the path undertaken to ensure ongoing improvement and make the most of this legacy. The City of Turin supports this project with its intervention, an important and decisive sign that supports the important cultural role of the Regio. Our work is further acknowledged by the essential contribution of Partners of the Foundation, who are present and reliable today more than ever, by Friends of the Regio and by the support of numberless Companies that believe in Teatro Regio. Finally, a well deserved and heartfelt thank you to our loyal public that, as every Season, will find in its Theatre the preferred site of entralling experiences. For further information: Follow Teatro Regio on our social media: Turin, 18 June 2018 PRESS OFFICE Teatro Regio, Communications and Press Office Paola Giunti (Director), Sara Zago and Paolo Cascio (Press Relations). Tel.: /239 ufficiostampa@teatroregio.torino.it - giunti@teatroregio.torino.it - zago@teatroregio.torino.it - cascio@teatroregio.torino.it