Abandon all hope: Lucia Ronchetti's Inferno receives Italian premiere

Patrizio Cigliano (Ugolino) and Tommaso Ragno (Dante)

Inferno at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

Fabio Ulleri (Caronte)

Tommaso Ragno (Dante) and Laura Catrani (Francesca)

Ensemble Neue Vocalsolisten

By Pia Maltri, 23 February 2026

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“both its strengths – and its weaknesses – lie in its experimental nature”

Reviewed at Teatro Costanzi, Teatro dell'Opera, Rome on 19 February 2026

Ronchetti, Inferno (Italian premiere)

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Tito Ceccherini, Conductor

David Hermann, Director

Jo Schramm, Set Designer

Maria Grazia Chiuri, Costume Designer

Fabrice Kebour, Lighting Designer

Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Tommaso Ragno, Dante

Laura Catrani, Francesca

Leonardo Cortellazzi, Ulisse

Andreas Fischer, Lucifero

Ariadne in Rome: David Hermann’s Strauss staging highlights contrasts

Pia Maltri, 1st March

In an opera rarely staged in Italy, David Hermann skilfully masters the metatheatrical challenges posed by the libretto to Ariadne auf Naxos.

****1

Livermore’s successful Bohème opens at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 14th January

Originally staged at the Caracalla Baths in 2014, Davide Livermore’s production comes in from the cold.

****1

Wagner’s Lohengrin finally returns – swanless – to Rome

Pia Maltri, 27th November

Damiano Michieletto is entrusted with the first staging of Lohengrin in Rome for 50 years, but his distracting staging is redeemed by the musical side of things.

***11

Peter Sellars directs Italian debut of Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater

Pia Maltri, 11th October

This co-production, previously seen in San Francisco, is more of a semi-staging, convinces thanks to committed performances from a cast led by Fleur Barron.

****1

Deborah Warner directs a memorable Turn of the Screw in Rome

Pia Maltri, 19th September

Following her Billy Budd and Peter Grimes, Deborah Warner directs a third Britten opera at the Teatro Costanzi.

****1

Revival of a classic L’Italiana in Algeri in Rome

Pia Maltri, 5th June

Despite an early misadventure, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma launches Maurizio Scaparro's staging of Rossini's comic opera with panache.

****1

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Pia Maltri

Pia first fell head over heels for opera when she was a teenager by listening to recordings of some of the great voices of the past: Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Mirella Freni, Alfredo Kraus. She holds a degree in Italian Literature and she lives in Rome.