| Ian Page | Conductor | |
| The Orchestra of Classical Opera | ||
| Rachel Kelly | Mezzo-soprano | Vologeso |
| Gemma Summerfield | Soprano | Berenice |
| Stuart Jackson | Tenor | Lucio Vero |
| Angela Simkin | Mezzo-soprano | Lucilla |
| Jennifer France | Soprano | Flavio |
| Tom Verney | Countertenor | Aniceto |
As part of MOZART 250, we present the UK première of Niccolò Jommelli’s Il Vologeso, first performed 250 years ago on 11 February 1766 for the Stuttgart court in Ludwigsburg. Jommelli was born just north of Naples in 1714 (the same year as Gluck) and died there in 1774. He composed over eighty operas, and was particularly renowned for the dramatic intensity and emotional realism of his music.
Il Vologeso is set in Ephesus in the second century. The Roman general Lucio Vero has defeated the Parthian king Vologeso but fallen in love with a Parthian princess, Berenice, who is herself betrothed to Vologeso. Powerless to protect her beloved, Berenice is faced with the choice of receiving either Lucio Vero’s hand in marriage or Vologeso’s severed head.
For this eagerly awaited performance Classical Opera has assembled a superb young cast, headed by the Irish mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly, a recent graduate of the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, tenor Stuart Jackson, a current Classical Opera Associate Artist, and soprano Gemma Lois Summerfield, winner of the 2015 Kathleen Ferrier Award.