Veronica Simeoni

Another love story that ends badly at the opera ... Leonor de Guzman may be a sublime woman, a woman of high rank, she may be the favorite of the king, but true love is forever forbidden. Experience the dramatic story of La Favorite, the most French of Italian operas, given to Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in its original French version.

The 2021 edition of the Macerata Opera Festival was inaugurated with the same opera chosen in 1921 by Count Pier Alberto Conti. At that time, the Sferisterio, formerly a stadium for an ancient ball game, was turned into a venue for opera performances. 2021 was actually a double celebration: Aida, one of the most loved operas, premiered in Cairo in 1871, so this marks its 150th anniversary. Aida has become Verdi's most popular work. This highlight in the international repertoire is a challenge for the musical and scenic resources of an opera house. At the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal in 1869, Verdi’s Rigoletto was played. When the Opera House Cairo asked Verdi for a new work with an Egyptian story, he studied in detail Egyptian music and history in order to give his opera an exotic atmosphere. Performed at the Arena Sferisterio 23 July and 1, 7, 12 August 2021.

Verdi's sweepingly ambitious opera on war, religion, love and fate is given a cinematic staging by Christof Loy. The Marquis of Calatrava forbids his daughter Leonora to marry the South American nobleman Don Alvaro. The lovers attempt to elope, but the Marquis catches them. In the ensuing altercation, Alvaro accidentally kills the Marquis, who curses his daughter as he dies. Leonora and Alvaro become separated during their escape. Leonora's brother Don Carlo di Vargas decides to find them and avenge his father.

The conflict between human rationality and emotional control, represented by the King of Thebes, Pentheus, and unbridled human passion, represented by the god Dionysus.

At the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, K. 543, and Rossini’s *Stabat Mater* will be performed to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death.

‘Cavalleria Rusticana nei Sassi’ is an immersive and participatory opera, set against the striking natural backdrop of the Sassi of Matera.

A staging of Verdi's opera "Nabucco" by Andreas Homoki. Recorded at Opernhaus Zürich.