At the end of the day, at the Wiener Staatsoper :

DON PASQUALE, by G. Donizetti

Francesco Ivan Ciampa : Conductor

Irina Brook : Staging

Pretty Yende : Norina

Nicola Alaimo : Don Pasquale

Dmitry Korchak : Ernesto

Stefan Astakhov : Malatesta

An irresistible show! Since its premiere in 2015, Irina Brook‘s Don Pasquale has returned regularly to delight audiences at the Vienna Opera. Donizetti’s work is first and foremost a model of lyrical comedy. Driving the plot along at breakneck speed, the Italian composer paints a gallery of the most delightful characters, ranging from the elderly Don Pasquale to the amorous couple Ernesto and Norina. For this revival, we can count on the vocal and dramatic power of Nicola Alaimo, literally implacable as Don Pasquale, and on the sweetness (always tinged with mischief) of Dmitri Korchak and the delightful Pretty Yende as the juvenile heroes. And then there’s Irina Brook‘s direction, who pulls off some incredible slapstick gags in an evening that knows no lulls. Irresistible and hilarious!

At the end of the day, at the Wiener Staatsoper :

MADAME BUTTERFLY, by G. Puccini

Marco Armiliato : Conductor

Anthony Minghella : Staging

Ermonela Jaho : Cio-Cio-San

Stephanie Maitland : Suzuki

Saimir Pirgu : Pinkerton

Attila Mokus : Sharpless

Puccini literally fell in love with the story of this young Japanese girl of fifteen, the victim of a sham marriage to an American lieutenant, to the point of enthusiastically studying the customs and language of the Land of the Rising Sun. The opera failed at its premiere in 1904, before becoming a resounding success the following year. A summit of dramatic tension but also a deeply moving portrait of a young woman, Madame Butterfly is one of the most popular mainstays of the entire operatic repertoire. The figure of Cio-Cio-San – an overwhelming role on stage for most of the opera – will be played here by Ermonela Jaho. Following in the footsteps of the greatest (Maria Callas, Leontyne Price…), the immense Albanian soprano burns herself out on stage with supreme artistry and abandon. We were also delighted to see the magnificent staging by the late Anthony Minghella (Oscar-winning director of The English Patient, who made his first and last operatic production here), combining modern scenography with the tradition of Japanese bunraku. In the pit, Italian Marco Armiliato is the ideal conductor to carry and support a large vocal cast.

At the end of the day, at the Wiener Staatsoper :

NABUCCO, by G. Verdi

Marco Armiliato : Conductor

Günter Krämer : Staging

Anna Netrebko : Abigaïlle

Amartuvshin Enkhbat : Nabucco

Ivan Magrì : Ismaël

Alexander Vinogradov : Zaccaria

Monika Bohinec : Fenena

Nabucco marks a major milestone in Verdi’s career. Premiered at La Scala in 1842, it was the Italian composer’s first great success. Set in biblical times in Jerusalem and Babylon, Nabucco deals with the fate of two peoples and cultures, but also with the folly of power. Verdi achieves admirable tableaux, such as the famous chorus ‘Va pensiero’ sung by the imprisoned Hebrews, and intense theatrical scenes, full of drama and passion. This Viennese production, directed by Günther Krämer, accentuates the opera’s political dimension (and its striking contemporary echoes). The great Italian conductor Marco Armiliato leads a first-rate vocal cast, including the impressive Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Nabucco. But, of course, we’ll only have Chimène’s eyes for Anna Netrebko, who promises us an oversized Abigaille worthy of the legend of the Russian soprano.