Sparkling revival of a forgotten Donizetti opera in Bergamo

By Edward Sava-Segal, 23 November 2020

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“vocal ensembles were well balanced and the orchestral music was beautifully shaped”

Reviewed at Teatro Sociale, Bergamo on 22 November 2020

Donizetti, Le nozze in villa

Fondazione Donizetti

Stefano Montanari, Conductor

Davide Marranchelli, Director

Anna Bonomelli, Set Designer

Linda Riccardi, Costume Designer

Alessandro Carletti, Lighting Designer

Gaia Petrone, Sabina

Omar Montanari, Don Petronio

Giorgio Misseri, Claudio

Manuela Custer, Anastasia

Fabio Capitanucci, Trifoglio

Gli Originali Orchestra

Coro Donizetti Opera

Fabio Tartari, Choirmaster / chorus director

Shipwrecked: Donizetti’s Il furioso comes a cropper in Bergamo

Mark Pullinger, 16th November

Manuel Renga’s sensitive framing device sets up a sympathetic production of a problematic opera, but is scuppered by the central vocal performance.

***11

At Donizetti Opera Festival: farces flop, young singers impress

Mark Pullinger, 15th November

Il campanello and Deux Hommes et une femme bomb at the Donizetti Opera festival, but the young singers of the Bottega Donizetti – and wily old hand Alessandro Corbelli – impress.

***11

Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro given a controversial update in Bergamo

Mark Pullinger, 14th November

Francesco Micheli reimagines Caterina Cornaro in a contemporary setting, switching to the historical past, to open this year’s Donizetti Opera festival in the composer’s home town.

****1

Young Sicilian soprano grabs the limelight in Bergamo Don Pasquale

Mark Pullinger, 17th November

They came for Javier Camarena, but cheered Giulia Mazzola to the rafters of the Teatro Donizetti as the third production of this year's festival opens.

***11

A modern makeover for Donizetti’s Zoraida di Granata

Mark Pullinger, 16th November

Bruno Ravella's effective production was seen in Wexford in its original 1822 version, but Donizetti Opera opts for the composer's 1824 revision, throwing the spotlight onto Cecilia Molinari's excellent Abenamet.

***11

Tudor history, gothic thrills: Roberto Devereux in Bergamo

Mark Pullinger, 15th November

Is Roberto Devereux the finest of Donizetti's four Tudor operas? Stephen Langridge's stylish, stylised production and a wonderful cast under Riccardo Frizza make a great case for it.

****1

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Edward Sava-Segal

Edward has been living in New York for the last 25 years, one of the reasons being the extraordinarily rich cultural life in this city. He has studied piano and classical music in his early years. He switched later on to computer science and data architecture but he kept an unwavering interest in following the classical music phenomenon here in New York and in his travels. Edward occasionally reviews fine arts events for the most prestigious literary magazine in Romania, his home country.

Le nozze in villa: sparkling revival of a forgotten Donizetti opera in Bergamo