I vespri siciliani in Naples: a revolt against the Mafia

Maria Agresta (Elena) and Coro del Teatro di San Carlo

Mattia Olivieri (Guido de Montforte)

Maria Agresta (Elena) and Piero Pretti (Arrigo)

Alex Esposito (Procida), Maria Agresta (Elena) and the Coro del Teatro di San Carlo

I vespri siciliani

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 23 January 2024

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“Alex Esposito brought a commanding vocal presence to the role of Procida”

Reviewed at Teatro di San Carlo, Naples on 21 January 2024

Verdi, Les Vêpres siciliennes (I vespri siciliani) (Sung in Italian)

Teatro di San Carlo

Henrik Nánási, Conductor

Emma Dante, Director

Carmine Maringola, Set Designer

Vanessa Sannino, Costume Designer

Cristian Zucaro, Lighting Designer

Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo

Coro del Teatro di San Carlo

Mattia Olivieri, Guido di Montforte

Piero Pretti, Arrigo

Maria Agresta, Elena

Alex Esposito, Giovanni da Procida

Gabriele Sagona, Bethune

Francesco Pittari, Danieli

Lorenzo Mazzucchelli, Robert

Carlotta Vichi, Ninette

Antonio Garès, Tebaldo

Raffaele Feo, Manfredo

Alessandro Spina, Il conte Vaudemont

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Lorenzo Fiorito, 11th March

Gianni Amelio's 2021 production of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro di San Carlo serves the music, but it no longer commands the same sense of discovery.

***11

Laurent Pelly’s Falstaff passes the Naples test with flying colours

Lorenzo Fiorito, 15th February

The French director’s much-travelled production arrives at the Teatro di San Carlo, displaying a precise balance between word, gesture and voice.

*****

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Lorenzo Fiorito, 18th January

Andreas Homoki’s staging at the Teatro di San Carlo, setting aside a few inconsistencies with the libretto, does not indulge in redundant symbolism.

***11

Ennio Morricone’s only opera, Partenope, finally premiered in Naples

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***11

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***11

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Lorenzo Fiorito, 11th October

Faithful to the libretto’s dramaturgy, the staging unfolds in scenographic environments of strong impact -

****1

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Lorenzo Fiorito

Lorenzo Fiorito holds degrees in Humanities and in Languages and Literatures, and a Phd in Languages for Special Purposes. He is a lecturer in historical musicological subjects at the Pegaso University, Naples, the Universitas Mercatorum, Rome and MEDEA Higher Education Institution, Malta, currently researching musicology as a special language. He is a member of the National Music Critics Association and of the Italian Society of Musicology. He edited a series of volumes in Musicology and History of Music for the publisher Diana Edizioni, mainly concerning the Neapolitan School of Music of the 18th century, and is the founder and artistic director of the “Francesco Durante Festival” in Frattamaggiore.