Singer

Giacomo Puccini's Turandot blows out a hundred candles. It’s time to celebrate its first century of life with the fairytale setting born from the imagination of Franco Zeffirelli: a record-breaking Arena production, with costumes created by the Oscar-winning designer, Emi Wada.

Turandot

Arena di Verona

Beethoven - Symphonies No. 8 and No. 9

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theatre

Giulio Cesare in Egitto premiered at the King's Theatre in London on 20 February 1724. At the time, Händel was the most respected composer on English soil as well as director of the Royal Academy of Music, which had been successfully promoting Italian opera in London since 1719. Julius Caesar, a musical drama in three acts to a libretto by Nicholas Francis Haym, was met with great triumph followed by thirteen performances with the theatre completely sold out. The opera is based on the historical episode of Caesar's campaign in Egypt in pursuit of his enemy Pompey after the Battle of Pharsalus. In Egypt, Caesar will meet the cunning and deceitful King Ptolemy and the perturbing Cleopatra, who will try to seduce him to her own advantage, only to fall in love with him for real. The opera was a perfect sampler of Baroque marvels: a first-rate vocal cast, which included the famous castrato Senesino in the title role and the soprano Francesca Cuzzoni in that of Cleopatra, a sumptuous and spectacular staging, and refined and beautifully crafted music. In the continuous scansion of recitatives and arias, typical of 18th-century opera, Giulio Cesare contains some of the composer's most popular pages such as the accompanied recitative “Alma del gran Pompeo”, sung by the protagonist before the urn of his murdered enemy Pompey.

Giulio Cesare in Egitto

The world premiere of Giacomo Puccini's final masterpiece took place at La Scala on April 25, 1926. The composer had died in Brussels on November 29, 1924, without being able to complete the score. Arturo Toscanini had asked Franco Alfano to prepare a finale, which remained problematic. On the night of the premiere, Toscanini placed his baton on the last note composed by Puccini, upon Liù's death: a gesture that has remained in the history of La Scala and is also remembered in the production conceived by Davide Livermore for Puccini's centenary. A rich production, combining technological marvels and artisanal expertise, revived under the baton of Nicola Luisotti.

EPSG:4326

Maria and Elisabetta: two queens fight for power and love. Between them stands Count Leicester, Elisabetta's lover, who is attracted to Maria. The two women meet in the park of Fotheringhay Castle - a duel of emotions, fought with the weapons of bel canto, coloratura on a knife's edge. In the end, the Catholic Maria will ascend the scaffold with her head held high, while the Protestant Elisabetta will keep her throne but lose her love.

Mary Stuart

Hamburg State Opera

Idomeneo

Comunale Nouveau

Italy. Land of sun, sea and serious culture – look no further than its great operatic Hall of Fame led by Giuseppe Verdi (that’s Joe Green to you and me). Inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic Othello, soprano Mariangela Sicilia joins us for Desdemona’s poignant soliloquy.

There’s a cameo from Giacomo Puccini, making his mark as a passionate dramatist with his early Symphonic Prelude. The silken Intermezzo from the opera Cavelleria rusticana provides some serenity amidst Pietro Mascagni’s torrid Sicilian drama.

Soprano

Mariangela Sicilia

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 24 - Oct 1, 2026

Mithridates, King of Pontus · Teatro di San Carlo

Dec 31, 2026

Markus Stenz · Teatro Comunale di Bologna

Past events

Aug 7 - Sep 11, 2026

Turandot · Fondazione Arena di Verona

Jul 1, 2026

Beethoven - Symphonies No. 8 and No. 9 · Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Symphony No. 8 by Beethoven

Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Liu in Turandot by Puccini

Teatro alla Scala

Liù in Turandot by Puccini

Fondazione Arena di Verona

Sifare in Mitridate, re di Ponto by Mozart

Teatro di San Carlo

ILIA in Idomeneo by Mozart

Teatro Comunale di Bologna

Singer in Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven

Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Egitto by Handel

Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Mary Stuart in Mary Stuart by Donizetti

Staatsoper Hamburg

About

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