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A somewhat disappointing new production by Hugo de Ana brings I vespri siciliani back to La Scala, where Fabio Luisi leads a successful musical production with a great cast.

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Milan

01 Feb 2023

A gloomy, dark Vespri siciliani at La Scala

By Laura Servidei

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Parma

Lamb to the slaughter(house): rare outing for the original Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro Regio

By Mark Pullinger, 25 September 2022

Boccanegra butchered in Parma? Only in the sense that director Valentina Carrasca sets the opera in an abattoir...

****1

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Parma

25 Sep 2022

Lamb to the slaughter(house): rare outing for 1857 Simon Boccanegra

By Mark Pullinger

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Milan

Mario Martone gives Rigoletto a convincing modern twist at the Teatro alla Scala

By Laura Servidei, 08 July 2022

Conductor Michele Gamba gives a very personal interpretation of Rigoletto, in an intelligent new production by Mario Martone, which seals a great success for the trio of principal singers, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Nadine Sierra and Piero Pretti.

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Milan

08 Jul 2022

Mario Martone gives Rigoletto a convincing modern twist at La Scala

By Laura Servidei

Martina Franca

Martina Franca reopens with Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 21 July 2020

A complex plot with great music and great theatre where Strauss showcases his compositional mastery.

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Martina Franca

21 Jul 2020

Martina Franca reopens with Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos

By Lorenzo Fiorito

Venice

Beware Posa! A black, bleak Don Carlo opens season at La Fenice

By Laura Servidei, 30 November 2019

Maestro Myung-Whun Chung leads an almost all-Italian cast in an impressive performance of Verdi’s most ambiguous masterpiece.

*****

*****

Venice

30 Nov 2019

Beware Posa! A black, bleak Don Carlo opens season at La Fenice

By Laura Servidei

New York City

A good, if not particularly touching, Madama Butterfly from Hui He at The Met

By Robert Levine, 15 October 2019

Anthony Minghella's production remains a feast for the eyes, but this performance failed to gel into a dramatic whole.

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New York City

15 Oct 2019

A good Madama Butterfly from Hui He at The Met

By Robert Levine

Milan

Sonya Yoncheva triumphs in Il pirata at La Scala

By James Imam, 29 June 2018

Yoncheva passed the test in style, providing a scintillating delivery that drew feverish approval from the public.

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Milan

29 Jun 2018

Sonya Yoncheva triumphs in Il pirata at La Scala

By James Imam

Edinburgh

Opulent Turin Macbeth arrives at Edinburgh International Festival

By David Smythe, 18 August 2017

Verdi’s Macbeth, performed at the first Edinburgh International Festival returns for its 70th anniversary in Emma Dante’s sumptuous new production from the Teatro Regino Torino under Gianandrea Noseda.

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Edinburgh

18 Aug 2017

Opulent Turin Macbeth arrives at EIF

By David Smythe

Turin

From Scotland to Sicily: Macbeth in the deep south in Emma Dante's staging in Turin

By Renato Verga, 21 June 2017

Director Emma Dante revives Verdi's Macbeth for Turin's Teatro Regio, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda.

****1

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Turin

21 Jun 2017

Macbeth in the deep south

By Renato Verga

Naples

Tragedy comes full circle in San Carlo's Rigoletto

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 18 January 2017

In this staging of Verdi’s masterpiece, the director reminds us that the ominous epilogue springs from its short prelude.

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Naples

18 Jan 2017

Tragedy comes full circle in San Carlo's Rigoletto

By Lorenzo Fiorito

Vienna

Johan Botha's death casts a pall over Madama Butterfly in Vienna

By Jonathan Sutherland, 08 September 2016

Kristine Opolais may not pass so easily for an oriental 15 year old, but her Cio-Cio San deftly avoids Titipu stereotypes.

***11

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Vienna

08 Sep 2016

Johan Botha's death casts a pall over Madama Butterfly

By Jonathan Sutherland

Verona

A Babylonian extravaganza: epic Nabucco at the Arena di Verona

By James Imam, 18 July 2015

De Bosio's highly traditional reading of Nabucco takes blockbuster form, aided by Veronese architect Rinaldo Olivieri's sets, which are at once epic and pragmatic.

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Verona

18 Jul 2015

A Babylonian extravaganza: epic Nabucco in Verona

By James Imam

Madrid

Extraordinary cast for I vespri siciliani in concert

By Laura Furones, 11 June 2014

A concert of many virtues, laying bare Verdi's music only made it better. James Conlon conducts I vespri siciliani in Madrid.

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Madrid

11 Jun 2014

Conlon conducts Verdi's Vespri Siciliani

By Laura Furones

Auckland

A visually stunning Madama Butterfly from New Zealand Opera

By Simon Holden, 18 April 2013

Sometimes in a performance there is a moment when everything just comes together; when every element on stage is operating at such a high level that the performance transcends these elements and causes one to become so immersed in the proceedings that you forget you’re at a performance at all.

*****

*****

Auckland

18 Apr 2013

A visually stunning Madama Butterfly from New Zealand Opera

By Simon Holden

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Valencia

Un Ernani desacomplejado y gótico en Les Arts

By Daniel Martínez Babiloni, 07 June 2023

Les Arts concluyó la temporada con Ernani en una producción que concita tradición y modernidad, en torno a una lectura musical desprejuiciada y una versión basada en el drama gótico original.

***11

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Valencia

07 Jun 2023

Un Ernani desacomplejado y gótico en Les Arts

By Daniel Martínez Babiloni

Madrid

Falsa austeridad en Il trovatore de Francisco Negrín

By David Santana Cañas, 04 July 2019

Un escenario con una austeridad fingida y grandes voces cierran la temporada del Teatro Real con Il trovatore de Verdi.

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Madrid

04 Jul 2019

Falsa austeridad en Il trovatore de Francisco Negrín

By David Santana Cañas

Seville

Excelencia vocal por partida doble en Il trovatore de la Maestranza

By Juan José Freijo, 23 March 2019

Un propuesta clásica de Il trovatore en la que los auténticos protagonistas fueron los cantantes entre los que destacaron Angela Meade y Agnieszka Rehlis con una actuación ejemplar.

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Seville

23 Mar 2019

Excelencia vocal por partida doble en Il trovatore de la Maestranza

By Juan José Freijo

Paris

Opéra Bastille: Pretty Yende transfigure Lucia di Lammermoor

By Maeva Da Cruz, 14 October 2016

Transfigurant littéralement le personnage de Lucia, Pretty Yende déploie une palette vocale stupéfiante et fait preuve d'une intelligence artistique tant dans son jeu scénique que dans son interprétation vocale, absolument sublime.

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Paris

14 Oct 2016

Pretty Yende transfigure Lucia di Lammermoor

By Maeva Da Cruz

Essen

Diana Damrau begeistert in Essen als Lucia di Lammermoor

By Christine Arnold, 29 May 2016

Diana Damrau erhielt noch vor Konzertende Standing Ovations, doch auch das restliche Ensemble sowie Orchester und Chor standen ihr in nichts nach.

*****

*****

Essen

29 May 2016

Diana Damrau glänzt in Essener Lucia

By Christine Arnold

Paris

Lucia di Lammermoor au TCE : la princesse Diana éblouissante dans la folie

By Denis Peyrat, 27 May 2016

Le 27 mai le TCE accueillait une version de concert de Lucia di Lammermoor avec les équipes du Teatro Regio de Turin sous la direction de leur charismatique directeur musical Gianandrea Noseda : au sein d'un cast de bon niveau, Diana Damrau a reçu un triomphe mérité dans le rôle titre grâce à une superbe maîtrise vocale, malgré une caractérisation quelque peu excessive.

****1

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Paris

27 May 2016

Lucia di Lammermoor au TCE : la princesse Diana éblouissante dans la folie

By Denis Peyrat