Deborah Warner directs a memorable Turn of the Screw in Rome

Cecily Balmforth (Flora), Anna Prohaska (Governess) and Zandy Hull (Miles)

Anna Prohaska (Governess) and Zandy Hull (Miles)

Anna Prohaska (Governess) and Christine Rice (Miss Jessel)

Anna Prohaska (Governess) and Ian Bostridge (Peter Quint)

By Pia Maltri, 22 September 2025

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“Ian Bostridge, as both the Prologue and Peter Quint, has a limpid, lyrical tone”

Reviewed at Teatro Costanzi, Teatro dell'Opera, Rome on 19 September 2025

Britten, The Turn of the Screw

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Ben Glassberg, Conductor

Deborah Warner, Director

Justin Nardella, Set Designer

Luca Costigliolo, Costume Designer

Jean Kalman, Lighting Designer

Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Ian Bostridge, Peter Quint, The Prologue

Anna Prohaska, Governess

Emma Bell, Mrs Grose

Christine Rice, Miss Jessel

Zandy Hull, Miles

Cecily Balmforth, Flora

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

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

Pia Maltri, 19th February

The Italian premiere of Lucia Ronchetti’s Inferno at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma uses Dante’s original verses, but her score fails to match their beauty.

***11

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

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.