Stabat Mater di Pergolesi - Teatro Coccia di Novara

Foto: Teatro Coccia di Novara

Renzo Bellarone

L’opera, la realizzazione artistica al tempo del coronavirus:  questo incipit è tratto dalle note di regia del regista Renato Bonajuto: “…l’Uomo e la Donna ritroveranno loro stessi e la loro reale essenza. E questo è quello che davvero spero possa succedere ad ogni essere umano, una volta finita, perché finirà, questa terribile esperienza che ci ha coinvolto e che forse non è stata vana. Riscoprire la verità della propria anima attraverso l’espressione e l’incanto dell’espressione artistica. Perché la Bellezza, per chi la sa guardare, ascoltare, assorbire, è salvifica.

STABAT MATER Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Opera da camera) direzione musicale Matteo Beltrami direttore dell’esecuzione Matteo Beltrami, allievi del corso di direzione d’orchestra dell’Accademia AMO regia Renato Bonajuto coreografie Giuliano De Luca orchestra I Virtuosi Italiani solisti Aurora Faggioli/Mariam Battistelli  danzatori Francesco Alfieri, Rocco Ascia, Alice Bellora, Emanuele Cappelli, Arianna Lenti, Alessio Urzetta impianto scenico e costumi Danilo Coppola luci Ivan Pastrovicchio produzione Fondazione Teatro Coccia

Lo Stabat Mater è Opera sacra commissionata a Pergolesi dalla laica confraternita napoletana dei Cavalieri della Vergine dei dolori di San Luigi al Palazzo e questa non è incongruenza, infatti anni prima la stessa confraternita ne aveva commissionato una versione, altrettanto celebre, a Scarlatti. Pergolesi rimase fedele alla struttura di Scarlatti e mantenne la strumentazione e le sole due voci soliste, differenziandosi però per  concisione e compattezza. Insolita è l’idea di uscire dalla forma concertistica ed invece farne una vera e propria rappresentazione seppur improntata alla  lentezza del movimento per raggiungere la staticità. L’ispirazione del regista Renato Bonajuto  affonda nelle pitture delle zone del Piemonte, per raggiungere poi Caravaggio ed i suoi coevi: ogni quadro musicale incontra la ricreazione di un quadro vivente dove i danzatori si spogliano tra un quadro e l’altro per ricoprire poi la nudità con i panni del personaggio successivo. Realizzazione di forte impatto e di costante suggestione, quindi un plauso oltre che a Bonajuto anche a Giuliano De Luca per le coreografie ed ai danzatori coinvolti. Venendo alla musica è certamente sempre toccante ed i Virtuosi Italiani dimostrano di essere un insieme affiatato ed esperto nel genere, riuscendo a trasmettere la commozione inevitabile. La direzione del Maestro Matteo Beltrami è ancora una volta attenta, puntuale e misurata, infondendo equilibrio e partecipazione. Le voci sono importanti non per nulla sono entrambe abitualmente ospiti dei grandi teatri d’Europa.  Vestite come  Vergini barocche stanno ai lati della scena, realizzata  da Danilo Coppola come i costumi ed  illuminata con sapienza da Ivan Pastrovicchio. Il mezzosoprano Aurora Faggioli esprime un bel colore scuro e tono caldo e pieno che ben tocca le corde dell’emotività, mentre Miriam Battistelli espone una voce limpida e vivida di colori illuminati che esalta la musicalità dell’insieme. Realizzazione davvero toccante!  La Musica vince sempre.

 

Prima dell'opera di Donizetti Anna Bolena al Teatro Nazionale dell'Opera e del Balletto Lituano

Raffaella Lupinacci (messoprano) Foto: Martynas Aleksa / LNOBT

Le prime rappresentazioni locali dell'opera Anna Bolena di Donizetti, programmate dal Teatro Nazionale d'Opera e Balletto della Lituania (LNOBT), una compagnia situata nella città di Vilnius, capitale di quel paese, che dovevano andare in scena originariamente a metà maggio e inizio giugno di quest'anno, hanno dovuto essere posticipate per ordine delle autorità sanitarie lituane, a causa dell'inaspettata comparsa del virus covid. Successivamente le prove sono state riprese nel mese di luglio con l'intenzione di approntare le recite per fine agosto, ma a fronte di un nuovo picco di contagi che ha colpito  lo stesso regista , il teatro ha dovuto chiudere nuovamente i battenti rinviando il balletto Giselle e le prove dell'opera. Dopo un periodo di peripezie e incertezze, una volta risolto il problema dei contagi, e vista la tenacia del teatro nel voler realizzare quest'opera, la première  è avvenuta finalmente domenica 4 ottobre, con le successive rappresentazioni il 14, 15, 16 e 17 ottobre con due cast, uno internazionale e l'altro composto da artisti locali, gli stessi due cast con i quali l'opera sarebbe stata rappresentata a maggio. L'importanza della prima di quest'opera sconosciuta in Lituania, in un teatro poco abituato a programmare titoli belcantistici, è quella di mostrare al pubblico la coproduzione teatrale in stile tradizionale tra il teatro lituano e l'opera di Roma. Il team incaricato della realizzazione di questo spettacolo è lo scenografo Luigi Ferrigno, con i costumi di Ursula Patzak e la regia di Andrea de Rosa; e sul podio ci sarà Sesto Quatrini, direttore d'orchestra italiano che attualmente ricopre la carica di direttore artistico e musicale di questo teatro. Nel cast saranno presenti gli artisti originariamente previsti a maggio, come il soprano Francesca Sassu nel ruolo principale di Anna Bolena; il tenore Michele Angelini nel ruolo di Riccardo Percy, e al suo debutto nel ruolo di Giovanna Seymour ci sarà il giovane mezzosoprano italiano Raffaella Lupinacci, una delle voci più interessanti emerse in Italia, allieva del Maestro Alberto Zedda, suo mentore nel Rossini Opera Festival, dove ha eseguito un gran numero di opere rossiniane, e ha fatto del belcanto una delle sue specialità. Raffaella Lupinacci, è considerata una delle artiste più interessanti e di spicco della scena lirica italiana e mondiale. Il cast di cantanti locali sarà composto dal soprano Joana Gedmintaite nei panni di Anna Bolena, dal tenore Deniz Leone come Riccardo Percy e Justina Gringyte, Giovanna Symour, mezzosoprano lituana con una vasta esperienza in importanti teatri europei. Il resto del cast è composto da artisti lituani. Come informazione aggiuntiva, Anna Bolena è considerata una delle migliori creazioni di Donizetti, composta all'età di 33 anni in un solo mese, ventinovesima nel suo ampio catalogo operistico. L'opera è stata rappresentata per la prima volta a Milano nel 1830, è stata accolta con successo dal pubblico, ed è stata una delle opere per le quali Donizetti ha iniziato ad essere considerato insieme a Bellini uno dei compositori più importanti del suo tempo. Un successo del teatro lituano, che vedrà finalmente la luce grazie alla pazienza e alla perseveranza del teatro e degli artisti in questi tempi difficili in cui gli spettacoli dal vivo sono così difficili da concretizzare.

Anna Bolena en Vilna Lituania

Foto: Raffaella Lupinacci / Martynas Aleksa / LNOBT

Las primeras representaciones locales de la ópera Anna Bolena de Donizetti, programadas por el Teatro Nacional de la Ópera y Ballet de Lituania, compañía situada en la ciudad de Vilna, capital de ese país, y que estaban originalmente programadas para ser representadas a mediados de mayo y a principios de junio del presente año, debieron ser pospuestas por orden de las autoridades sanitarias de Lituania ante el inesperado brote del virus. Los ensayos se reanudaron en julio con la intención de que las funciones se realizaran a finales de agosto, pero, ante una nueva ola de contagios que afectó a su propio director, el teatro tuvo que cerrar sus puertas de nueva cuenta, posponiendo el ballet Giselle y los ensayos de la ópera en cuestión.  Después de un periodo de vicisitudes e incertidumbre y una vez solucionado el tema de los contagios, y ante la perseverancia del teatro por llevar a cabo esta ópera,finalmente se estrenó el domingo 4 de octubre, con funciones posteriores los días 14, 15, 16 y 17 de octubre con dos elencos, uno internacional y otro conformado por artistas locales, que son los mismos contratados desde mayo.  La importancia del estreno de esta ópera desconocida en Lituania, en un teatro poco acostumbrado a programar óperas belcantistas, estriba en mostrar a su público la coproducción escénica de estilo tradicional entre el teatro lituano y la Ópera de Roma. La creación de este montaje se conforma por el diseñador Luigi Ferrigno, vestuarios de Ursula Patzak, dirección escénica de Andrea de Rosa y, en el podio, Sesto Quatrini, director italiano que actualmente ocupa la posición de director artístico y musical de este teatro.  El elenco contará con la presencia de la soprano italiana Francesca Sassu en el rol protagónico; el tenor Michele Angelini en el papel de Riccardo Percy; y, haciendo su debut en el papel de Giovanna Seymour, la joven mezzosoprano italiana Raffaella Lupinacci, discípula de Alberto Zedda, que ha hecho del bel canto en general y de Rossini en particular su especialidad. El elenco local estará conformado por la soprano Joana Gedmintaite, el tenor Deniz Leone y Justina Gringyte.

Guitar rock legend Eddie Van Halen dies of cancer at 65

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen) Ámsterdam January 26, 1955-Santa Mónica, California, October 6,  2020) guitar virtuoso whose blinding speed, control and innovation propelled his band Van Halen into one of hard rock’s biggest groups and became elevated to the status of rock god, has died. He was 65. With his distinct solos, Eddie Van Halen fueled the ultimate California party band and helped knock disco off the charts starting in the late 1970s with his band’s self-titled debut album and then with the blockbuster record “1984,” which contains the classics “Jump,” “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher.” Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists. Eddie Van Halen was something of a musical contradiction. He was an autodidact who could play almost any instrument, but he couldn’t read music. He was a classically trained pianist who also created some of the most distinctive guitar riffs in rock history. He was a Dutch immigrant who was considered one of the greatest American guitarists of his generation.

Texas Opera Companies Rally Together to Create Texas Opera Alliance

Texas Opera Companies Rally Together to Create Texas Opera Alliance

In midst of the global pandemic, five opera companies develop Texas Opera Alliance to ensure the future and accessibility of opera in the Lone Star State

 

HOUSTON – October 1, 2020 – Houston Grand Opera (HGO), Austin Opera (AO), The Dallas Opera (TDO), Fort Worth Opera (FWO), and OPERA San Antonio (OSA) are pleased to announce the creation of the Texas Opera Alliance (TOA), a new partnership of the five companies, designed to advance and protect the future of the art form in Texas. Facing the same challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for performing arts organizations across the globe, the five companies have identified this opportunity to give Texans more access to opera through a strategic alliance. The mission of the Texas Opera Alliance is to advance and diversify the operatic art form through innovative production partnerships, audience-building initiatives, and collaborative investments in new works, ensuring that opera continues to thrive in the Lone Star State.

 

In its first year, in addition to each organization implementing its own unique promotional initiatives, TOA will cross promote digital content and programming while creating unique touchpoints with audience members from all five organizations. In addition to streaming video content, TOA will provide member companies access to an array of publications and online resources, webinars, and supplementary programming. Through this cross promotion, the organizations’ digital content will have a larger reach.

 

“The Texas Opera Alliance supports a diverse and innovative group of organizations across the state. Our goal is simple: to make opera accessible. Through this alliance, we will be able to bring new and unique content to audiences all over Texas,” says HGO Managing Director Perryn Leech. “While it is not the season we had planned, it is exciting to see our organizations pushing the boundaries of the art form and bringing incredible opera to the screen. We are grateful that Sarah and Ernest Butler, longtime opera supporters, have made the extraordinarily generous pledge of $1 million to help underwrite HGO’s and Austin Opera’s digital programming, to be shared with opera lovers across Texas.”

 

“Texas is famous for being big with grand ideas, and that’s what I love most about this idea,” says HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. “I’m proud of our collaborative projects already in development, such as a digital production of David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera, an HGO, Austin Opera, and OSA co-production, to be co-directed by OSA General Director E. Loren Meeker (together with Ryan McKinny) and conducted by Austin Opera’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Timothy Myers. I’m so looking forward to continuing this work with our Texan colleagues.”

 

“I’m heartened and inspired by the unprecedented level of collaboration between our five companies in recent months. I believe these cost-effective strategies to expand our mutual offerings will serve as a new model for the growth and sustainability of our art form,” says Annie Burridge, General Director & CEO of Austin Opera and Vice-Chair of OPERA America. “Nearly every project we are currently working on at Austin Opera intersects with a member of the Texas Opera Alliance, from co-productions to the engagements of Texas-based artists. For example, HGO Studio Artist Elena Villalón has now appeared on the digital stages of Houston, Dallas, and Austin. And thanks to Austin-based philanthropists Sarah and Ernest Butler, a fleet of innovative co-productions between HGO and Austin Opera will now be made available to an audience with no geographical limitations.”

 

“This statewide alliance seems a natural and necessary next step towards championing artistic collaboration and cross-promotional opportunities,” says Ian Derrer, The Dallas Opera’s General Director and CEO. “We look forward to sharing content from our popular TDO Network—viewed by more than 34 million in 50 countries—as well as upcoming digital programs including reprised and original content as we work with our sister companies to elevate this astonishing art form.”

 

“We are thrilled to be a founding member of the Texas Opera Alliance, a unique partnership that allows all of us to maximize our resources and forge new experiences for our patrons,” says OSA General & Artistic Director E. Loren Meeker. “Our unprecedented collaboration will help set a new standard for creativity and lengthen our reach, both on and off stage. In the last few months OSA has embraced this opportunity by presenting two virtual masterclasses with Fort Worth Opera, and we are honored to unite with HGO and Austin Opera on Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera and The Impresario for the HGO Digital season. These films push operatic boundaries and provide our patrons with exciting new content. The future is bright with endless possibilities!”

 

"As the newly appointed General Director of FWO, I am elated to join Maestro Illick and my colleagues as a founding member of TOA," says Afton Battle. "During this time in which our patrons are thirsting for quality engagement and access to the cultural stimulation that live theater and the arts provide, the collaborative efforts of TOA will allow us to expand our reach and deepen our connection to the community by leveraging the resources of our fellow sister companies. We are moving into a new creative realm of what it means to experience opera. There is no ceiling to hold us back, only infinite possibilities."

 

Each organization will be creating new digital offerings for Texas audiences. More information about the Texas Opera Alliance, its member companies, and their seasons and digital offerings can be found at www.texasoperaalliance.org. 

 

 

About Austin Opera

Serving Central Texas since 1986, Austin Opera inspires audiences with its trademark blend of innovation and artistic excellence. With the leadership of General Director & CEO Annie Burridge and the Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor Timothy Myers, Austin Opera presents a curated season of grand opera productions at the Long Center, the crown jewel of Austin performing arts venues. Combining the finest American and international stars with the outstanding local talent of our Orchestra and Chorus, Austin Opera’s productions include accessible takes on classic operas as well as challenging new works that reinforce the continuing relevance of opera.

 

Opera ATX, powered by Austin Opera, brings groundbreaking new works, emerging artists, exciting composers, and dynamic directors to Austin. By tapping into our city’s live music DNA, Opera ATX reflects the spirit of the city and the pioneering image it’s known for. We create the conditions for operatic experiences completely new to Austin, and perhaps completely new to the art form, by exploring alternative venues and unique local partnerships. Driven by Austin Opera’s love of opera, love of audiences, and love of Austin, Opera ATX shows how Austin is shaping its opera company and inspiring innovative experiences.

 

Austin Opera is also a force in hundreds of classrooms across Central Texas, nurturing the next generation of opera audiences through its award-winning education programs. We work directly with educators, community leaders, students, and parents to make opera relevant, educational, and entertaining for students of all ages.

 

About Dallas Opera

One of the leading opera companies in the country, The Dallas Opera has an extraordinary legacy of world-class productions and thrilling premieres featuring the greatest operatic artists of our time. Inaugurated in 1957 with a concert featuring the incomparable Maria Callas, TDO is known for the notable U.S. debuts of a host of legendary artists. The company has long been an industry leader and innovator through groundbreaking initiatives including the Hart Institute for Women Conductors, TDO Network, free public simulcasts, acclaimed art song recitals, the national vocal competition, special concerts, and outstanding family and award-winning education programs. TDO’s home is the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, a jewel in the Dallas Arts District. As one of the largest performing arts employers in North Texas, TDO is proudly committed to diversity, onstage and off, and is a major contributor to the economic vitality and international cultural reputation of this region.

 

About Fort Worth Opera

Founded in 1946, Fort Worth Opera is poised to celebrate its 75^th anniversary in 2021. For the last fifteen years, FWO has become one of the leading American companies dedicated to nurturing and performing new opera, in addition to producing performances of traditional repertoire with rising American stars. Our acclaimed Frontiers program is going online this fall with our first digital Libretto Workshop. Our Children’s Opera Theatre typically reaches about 60,000 students across North Texas each season with live, interactive performances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, FWO has created online educational curriculum for local music students to supplement their in-school studies, and COT can also now serve entire families and communities beyond the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Fort Worth Opera is committed to celebrating all North Texans, and through our ongoing Nóches de Opera program, the company offers exciting community-driven events and powerful operas that represent the diverse cultures of all of the Americas.

 

About Houston Grand Opera

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. HGO was the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2019 International Opera Awards. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art to serve an ever-evolving audience, HGO has led the field in commissioning new works (68 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators. The company contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. HGO’s pioneering community engagement initiative, HGOco, has served as a model for other arts organizations.

 

The NEXUS Initiative is HGO’s multi-year ticket underwriting program that allows Houstonians of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy opera without the barrier of price. Since 2007, NEXUS has enabled more than 250,000 Houstonians to experience superlative opera through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.

 

HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony, two Grammy awards, and three Emmy awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.

 

About OPERA San Antonio

OPERA San Antonio’s mission is to produce opera of uncompromising artistic quality and to enrich our community through educational outreach and social engagement. The company is committed to preserving and sharing opera as an art form that is relevant, inspirational, and accessible to residents and visitors of all ages and backgrounds. The civic premise of OPERA San Antonio is that the community needs, and the citizens deserve, access to the major performing arts. 

 

Italian mezzo-soprano Raffaella Lupinacci will debut as Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena at the Lithuanian Opera in Vilnius.

Foto: Raffaella Lupinacci (mezzosoprano) © Fabrizio Sansoni 

Italian mezzo-soprano Raffaella Lupinacci will make her debut in the role of Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater in Vilnius. Anna Bolena, considered one of Donizetti's best creations, was composed in just one month when the composer was 33 years old, and is the twenty-ninth work in his extensive catalog of operatic compositions. The first local performances of Donizetti's Anna Bolena opera, programmed by the Lithuanian theater, a co-production with the Roma Opera and will be conducted by its the musical direction Sesto Quatrini and directed on stage by Andrea de Rosa. The production will have its premiere on Sunday, October 4, 2020, with subsequent performances on October 14, 15, 16 and 17. In her debut in the role of Giovanna Seymour, young mezzo-soprano Raffaella Lupinacci, one of the most interesting and outstanding artists to emerge from Italy in recent times, who has performed countless Rossinian operas and has made belcanto one of her specialties, will add this challenging role to her already vast repertoire.

https://www.opera.lt/en/whatss-on/anna-bolena-e64#show284_openperformers