Few opera singers capture the public imagination like Anna Netrebko. And there are few more glittering occasions in the opera calendar than the opening night of the season at the Teatro alla Scala. When the two collide, things can be very special indeed. In recent years, Netrebko has transferred to heavier soprano roles, such as Puccini’s “material girl” Manon Lescaut, which suits her perfectly. This autumn, she opens the La Scala season in a new role, that of Maddalena de Coigny in Mario Martone's production of Andrea Chénier. Netrebko's husband Yusif Eyvazov takes on the title role of the revolutionary poet. The opera is conducted by music director Riccardo Chailly and heads an incredibly appetising season, one of nine new productions.
Chailly’s other appearance next year is conducting the new staging of Donizetti’s comedy Don Pasquale. Dramatically, it’s a tricky opera for a director to get right. Elderly bachelor Don Pasquale plans to marry to disinherit his nephew. Dr Malatesta cooks up a scheme to teach Pasquale a lesson, by presenting Norina (Ernesto’s beloved) as his sister “Sofronia” as a suitably obedient bride for Pasquale. As soon as the wedding contract is signed, “Sofronia” makes Pasquale’s life a misery. In the wrong hands, it can turn the joke into something quite cruel and nasty. Davide Livermore usually has a sure comic touch in Rossini, so hopes will be high for this Donizetti staging. In Ambrogio Maestri, Livermore has one of the great comic baritones at its disposal; the greatest Falstaff in the world at present, his comic timing and nimble patter should suit Don Pasquale well. Rosa Feola, who made her La Scala debut in this season’s La gazza ladra, is the feisty Norina who teaches the old man a thing or two about married life.
Ernani was only Verdi’s fifth opera but considering how many times Nabucco (his third) or Macbeth (his tenth) are scheduled, it gets staged relatively infrequently. This is a shame as it’s a terrific work, packed with wonderful arias. Based on Victor Hugo, it’s not so much a love triangle but a love square, with three men seeking the hand of Elvira: the bandit, Ernani; her uncle Don Ruy Gomez de Silva; and Don Carlo, later to become the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (the same character who crops up as the mysterious monk in Verdi’s Don Carlos). Despite a pact between Ruy Gomez and Ernani, and a magnanimous gesture from Carlo towards his conspirators, the opera doesn’t end well. Casting Verdi is difficult these days – even for Italian houses – but La Scala has come up trumps. Ailyn Pérez has proved herself one of the classiest Violettas on the circuit and is well equipped to tackle the heavier vocal demands of Elvira, especially the taxing aria “Ernani, Ernani involami”. Francesco Meli’s robust tenor should be a good fit for the bandit of the title role, while Simone Piazzola (Don Carlo) is undoubtedly one of the most promising young Verdi baritones for years.