THE ROYAL OPERA 2005/6 SEASON Contents: Page 1. Antonio Pappano Introduction 2 2. The Royal Opera 2005/6 Repertory 4 3. Vilar Young Artists 34 4. The Royal Opera 2005/6 Season Opera at a Glance 35 5. The Royal Opera Performance Dates 39 6. Press Office Contacts 41 Telephone, personal and online booking on http://www.roh.org.uk opens 28 June 2005. Supported by Arts Council England 1 Introduction to the 2005/6 Royal Opera Season – Antonio Pappano I’m really thrilled with the unusual mix of work the new Season offers. We open with concert performances of Donizetti’s last opera, Dom Sébastien. It’s one of Donizetti’s greatest achievements and yet it’s rarely heard. It’s bigger than the Donizetti we know and love and probably sounds more Verdian to our ears, but it’s an unusual piece in that it has a significant role (Zayda) for a mezzo-soprano instead of the usual soprano – we have Vesselina Kasarova singing the part. Piero Faggioni’s production of La fanciulla del West is an old Covent Garden favourite from the last 30 years and one I’ve always wanted to revive. It’s a piece that otherwise rarely comes up, and it deserves a renaissance. The Wild West setting seems so improbable but it works so well – we all love to see a Western, and Puccini’s music is very cinematic, brilliantly conjuring up the locale and colours of America. It’s one of his most sophisticated scores, as sophisticated, if not more so, than Turandot. Nielsen’s Maskarade has never been done at Covent Garden, and it’s really high time we all got to know this wonderful Danish secret. I love Nielsen as a composer; here he’s written a richly romantic score around a witty 18th-century story. I’m sure David Pountney will create a production full of fantasy and humour. After the pathos of Die Walküre I’m looking forward hugely to Wagner’s Siegfried, the third installment in our Ring cycle. It offers a completely different musical landscape, far lighter and quicker than the two previous parts – it’s been described as the scherzo of the four-movement symphony. We continue our celebrations of Michael Tippett’s centenary with the revival of Graham Vick’s production of The Midsummer Marriage conducted by Richard Hickox. Tippett is as important to the House as Britten is, though Britten tends to get more publicity. This is the ideal opportunity to cast the spotlight on a composer whose work deserves a wider following. We’ve put together a birthday package for Charles Mackerras, who this Season celebrates his 80th; on the actual day he’ll be conducting a revival of Un ballo in maschera with a completely new cast, followed in the New Year by Francesca Zambello’s production of The Bartered Bride. Although Charles’s reputation is for the Czech repertory, as well as for Mozart and Handel, he conducts everything superbly. Our chamber opera programme in the Linbury goes from strength to strength, and continues with a new production by Olivia Fuchs of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I think the way the Linbury has been able to adapt to so many different production styles has surprised everybody. It can appear rather utilitarian and industrial, but it’s so easily transformed, as productions of The Rape of Lucretia, Babette’s Feast and The Soldier’s Tale have proved. I’m pleased that Britten’s music is being done in this intimate venue more appropriate to the smaller piece. Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s new production of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, with Mark Elder conducting, is the last part of a Rossini trilogy we put together (first La Cenerentola and then Il turco in Italia in the 2004/5 Season). We’ve purposely teamed Il barbiere in Siviglia and the new Le nozze di Figaro because they are companion pieces in terms of their characters. Joyce DiDonato (who was so wonderful in The Cunning Little Vixen) sings Rosina, and Toby Spence takes on probably his biggest role at Covent Garden to date, Count Almaviva. Our new Le nozze di Figaro will be staged by David McVicar, with the wonderful Erwin Schrott (Leporello in last year’s Don Giovanni) returning in the title role, and we’ve reunited him with Gerald Finley as Almaviva. 2 Figaro returns later in the Season with an equally fine but different cast, this time conducted by Colin Davis. We’ve put together a fantastic cast for our revival of La traviata, with the wonderful baritone Željko Lučić singing Germont père, and the young Puerto Rican soprano Ana Maria Martinez as Violetta. We’re also reviving Verdi’s Macbeth, with Yakov Kreizberg making his conducting debut, Thomas Hampson in the title role and Violeta Urmana – need I say more? I’m thrilled we’re also bringing back Keith Warner’s very successful production of Wozzeck – with a new cast, including a wonderful young baritone, Johan Reuter, as Wozzeck, and Susan Bullock as Marie. It’s an hour and 30 minutes of completely concentrated theatre, and though it has a reputation for being rather complex, once you get into the heart of the story it’s overwhelmingly powerful, both raw and sublime. Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin will be a total contrast. I’m happy we’re finally bringing director Steven Pimlott to Covent Garden and pairing him with conductor Philippe Jordan. We’ve also got a great cast, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Onegin, Rolando Villazón as Lensky and Amanda Roocroft as Tatyana. We follow it in the Linbury with a new production by John Lloyd Davies of a rarely seen chamber opera, Il re pastore, which continues our homage to Mozart for the 250th anniversary of his birth. It’s conducted by the talented Edward Gardner, making his debut with us. Meanwhile, on the main stage, I have this little Götterdämmerung to deal with. It’s a tremendous release – Ring drama as grand opera – and an amazing titan of a work. We follow it with Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac (a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York), with Plácido Domingo taking on yet another new title role. It’s rarely done, but is one of those works that needs a great singer to make a case for it. We’ve then got a fantastic double bill with Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung, with Kirill Petrenko returning to conduct after the success of his Madama Butterfly, and Petra Lang sharing the role of Judith with Christine Rice. Albert Dohmen sings Bluebeard, and Angela Denoke, that wonderful singing actress, the Woman in Erwartung. Both pieces have an amazing intensity although the action is very subtle. The real action’s all in the orchestra and in what is left unsaid. I’m very excited about our new production of Tosca. Angela Gheorghiu is finally going to sing the role on stage, and we’re partnering her with Marcelo Alvarez and Bryn Terfel. The producer is Jonathan Kent, a very well-known theatre director. Then we stay in Italian mode and finish the Season with two revivals, the ever-popular Turandot and Jonathan Miller’s ‘dolls house’ Don Pasquale (this time with Alessandro Corbelli in the title role). Antonio Pappano Music Director, The Royal Opera 20 April 2005 3 The Royal Opera 2005/6 Repertory DOM SÉBASTIEN – in concert (Gaetano Donizetti) 10 September at 6.30pm / 13 September at 7pm Following the success of Ponchielli’s La Gioconda in September 2004, The Royal Opera once again begins its new Season with concert performances of a rarely performed Italian opera. Donizetti’s last opera Dom Sébastian, which has never been performed at Covent Garden, will be sung in French and will be the first time the critical edition of this opera will be heard in the UK. Mark Elder conducts the first of three operas this Season. He made his debut with The Royal Opera in 1976 conducting Rigoletto. He has conducted over ten operas at the Royal Opera House, including Simon Boccanegra, Lohengrin, Attila, La Cenerentola and Turandot. He collaborated on a film on the life and work of Donizetti which was broadcast in Germany in 1996. Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti sings the title role of Dom Sébastien. He made his debut in the role in 1998 in Bologna. He made his debut with The Royal Opera in 2000 singing the role of Alfredo (La traviata), a role to which he returned to Covent Garden to sing again in 2001. Recent roles include the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) in Barcelona and Alfredo (La traviata) in Florence. Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova makes her role debut singing Zayda. She made her debut with The Royal Opera as Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) in 1993 and her roles with the Company have included the title role in La Cenerentola and Sesto (La clemenza di Tito). Italian baritone Renato Bruson, renowned for both his Verdi and Donizetti roles, sings the role of Camoëns. He made his operatic debut in 1961 as Count di Luna (Il trovatore) in Spoleto and made his debut at Covent Garden in 1976 as Anckarström (Un ballo in maschera). His roles at Covent Garden include the title roles in Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra and Falstaff as well as Iago (Otello), Miller (Luisa Miller), Giorgio Germont (La traviata) and Rodrigo (Don Carlos). He has previously sung the role of Camoëns in concert in the Italian version in Reggio Calabria and Bari.