Così fan tutte - Salzburg Festival

Verdi: Falstaff

In England, at Windsor during the reign of Henry IV of England (1399–1413). Sir John Falstaff, also known as ‘Il Pancione’ (the Potbelly), has two identical love letters sent out, one to Meg Page and the other to Alice Ford, then delivers a sarcastic lecture on honour to his servants Bardolfo and Pistola. In Ford’s garden, his wife Alice and her friend Meg notice the similarity between Falstaff’s letters and decide to take revenge on him by pretending that Alice is receiving him at home whilst Ford is away. ‘Falstaff’ is a three-act opera buffa by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ and ‘Henry IV’, Parts I and II. It premiered on 9 February 1893 at La Scala in Milan and on 18 April 1894 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. It was the last opera composed by the composer, then aged 80. Taken from the 27-opera Verdi box set “Tutto Verdi”. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 10, 12, 15, 22 and 25 October 2011.

Messa da Requiem (2011)

A requiem inspired by the death, on May 22, 1873, of the Italian poet and writer Alessandro Manzoni, author of the novel “The Betrothal”. Giuseppe Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem” (more commonly known as the “Verdi Requiem”) is a requiem mass for soloists (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass), double choir, and orchestra, premiered on May 22, 1874, at the Church of San Marco in Milan. The Requiem is Verdi’s only major composition not intended for the opera. From the 27-opera Verdi box set “Tutto Verdi.” Recorded live at the Teatro Farnese in Parma on October 8, 2011.

Verdi: Nabucco

‘Nabucco’, or ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ (Italian: Nabucco), is an opera by Giuseppe Verdi with a libretto by T. Solera, based on events described in the Bible. (Nabucco is a shortened Italian rendering of the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II). It was this opera, the third in Verdi’s oeuvre, that brought him true fame. It tells of the tribulations of the Jews, their captivity by the Babylonians, and their subsequent release to their homeland by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Giuseppe Verdi’s opera ‘Nabucco’, is a monumental work that tells the story of the enslavement of the Hebrew people by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco) and their journey towards redemption. The premiere took place on 9 March 1842 at La Scala in Milan. The first performance of the final version was held at the Teatro San Giacomo in Corfu in September 1844. From the box set of 27 Verdi operas, ‘Tutto Verdi’. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma, 12–14 October 2009.

Aida - Arena di Verona

The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.

The Pearlfishers

A village hires a priestess to pray for the safety of their pearl fishermen, but long lost love gets in the way.

Verdi: Il Trovatore

In medieval Spain, the gypsy Azucena abducted the son of the Count of Luna to avenge her mother, whom the old count had sent to the stake. She raised him as her own son, under the name of Manrico. In the service of Urgel and banished by the King of Aragon, Manrico nevertheless falls in love with Leonora, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting. ‘Il trovatore’ is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare, based on the Spanish drama ‘El Trovador’ (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It premiered on 19 January 1853 at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, and was subsequently performed in Paris, at the Théâtre-Italien, in its original version, on 23 December 1854. From the box set “Tutto Verdi”, featuring 27 of Verdi’s operas. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 5 and 9 October 2010.

Verdi: La Traviata

Around 1850, in Paris. At a soirée, Alfredo Germont, a young man from a respectable Provençal family, falls in love with Violetta Valéry, a courtesan. Deeply in love, Violetta gives up her profession and devotes herself entirely to Alfredo. However, Mr Germont senior, in the name of bourgeois respectability, persuades her to break up with his son. Violetta then writes a letter of separation to Alfredo without revealing the real reason for her decision. The fatal illness from which she was already suffering then flares up once more. A month later, Alfredo learns from his father that Violetta never stopped loving him... ‘La traviata’ is a 3 act opera by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on the novel ‘The Lady of the Camellias’ by Alexandre Dumas, fils (1848) and its stage adaptation (1852). Premiered on 6 March 1853 at La Fenice in Venice. From the 27-opera Verdi box set “Tutto Verdi”. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 4 April 2012.

Verdi: La battaglia di Legnano

Part of Tutto Verdi series - La battaglia di Legnano (2012) Trieste. 'La battaglia di Legnano' ('The Battle of Legnano') is an opera in four acts, with music by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian-language libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. Most of the early Verdi operas are sort of rare for a reason. They do not rise to the heights of genius that his middle period and late period operas did. However, there are always some beautiful arias or choruses and most of them are great fun......sort of like bel canto on steroids! What I mean is that you can hear that he was coming from the bel canto tradition, but he liked to inject a lot more power into the characters and their music.

Moniuszko: Halka

At Theater an der Wien Stanisław Moniuszko’s Polish national opera Halka is performed by a superb cast including Corinne Winters ('devotedly') , Piotr Beczała ('vocally outstanding') and Tomasz Konieczny ('his acting is piercing') (Der Standard). The Polish leading team, above all director Mariusz Treliński, puts the plot into a supercooled crime aesthetic. The ORF Radio Symphonie-Orchester Wien under the baton of Łukasz Borowicz plays with perceptible delight.

Puccini: Edgar (Teatro Regio di Torino)

Puccini’s operas are among the most beloved and best-known works in the classical repertoire, but Edgar may be unknown even to aficionados, at least as it is presented here. This original four-act version of Edgar, first performed in 1889, was believed lost for over a century when Puccini’s granddaughter Simonetta discovered the score fully intact in 2008. In addition to the third act’s funeral music, which Arturo Toscanini conducted at Puccini’s funeral in 1924, listeners may recognize the duet from the now-restored fourth act, cut by Puccini in subsequent revisions of the work: it bears more than a passing similarity to the third-act duet in Tosca.

Hotel Metamorphosis @ Festival of Salzburg 2025

When Ovid's “Metamorphoses” meet Vivaldi's music: conceived and directed by Barrie Kosky, an effervescent show presented at the 2025 Salzburg Festival. With Cecilia Bartoli, Lea Desandre, Nadezhda Karyazina, and Philippe Jaroussky, as well as actress Angela Winkler in the spoken role of Orpheus.

Verdi: Alzira

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Alzira (2012) Dobbiaco. This is a concert performance. Alzira is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, based on the play Alzire, ou les Américains by Voltaire. The first performance was at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 12 August 1845.

Verdi: Oberto

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Oberto (2007) Parma. Oberto was the first of Verdi’s operas to be staged and was heard for the first time at La Scala, Milan, in November 1839. As a young and unknown composer, Verdi was subject to the rules then governing the opera industry in Italy. Even so, there are already many scenes in this early work that reveal unmistakable signs of the composer’s individual style.

Verdi: Aida

Set in Memphis and Thebes during the time of the pharaohs, the story centres on a love affair between Aida, an Ethiopian slave owned by Amneris, the pharaoh’s daughter, and Radamès, a captain in the Egyptian guard. Their relationship is thwarted by the armed conflict between their two peoples and the jealousy of Amneris, who is in love with Radamès. ‘Aida’ is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni based on a plot by Auguste Mariette, premiered on 24 December 1871 at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo. From the box set ‘Tutto Verdi’, featuring 27 of Verdi’s operas. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 1 and 5 February 2012.

Verdi: Attila

In Aquileia, around the middle of the 5th century. Odabella, daughter of the city’s lord, lost her family during the sacking carried out by Attila and intends to take revenge by killing him (Santo di patria indefinito amor). She herself was spared by Uldino, one of Attila’s slaves. Impressed by her courage, Attila gives her his sword. General Ezio, sent from Rome, proposes to Attila a deal to divide the Empire (Avrai tu l'universo, resti l'Italia a me!). But Attila denounces him as a traitor and refuses. Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Temistocle Solera based on Zacharias Werner’s tragedy, Attila, König der Hunnen, and premiered at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice on March 17, 1846. From the box set of 27 Verdi operas, “Tutto Verdi.” Recorded live at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto on October 21 and 25, 2010.

Verdi: I Lombardi alla prima crociata

I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards on the First Crusade) was Verdi’s fourth opera and received its first performance at La Scala, Milan, in February 1843. The grandiloquent subject matter is fleshed-out with broad-brushed musical and dramatic effects and lavish choral scenes created a correspondingly impressive impact. A great success in Milan, it spread to the rest of Europe within a matter of only a few years.