Costume Designer

In 17th-century Scotland, where irreconcilable clans clash, a young woman falls victim to her own family: a forced marriage will lead her to murder and madness. It is all the fever of romantic Bel Canto that ignites this dark masterpiece by Donizetti , sublimated by the emblematic production of Nicolas Joel, Ezio Frigerio and Franca Squarciapino . A double cast alternating between a star-studded cast and the most brilliant performers of the young generation.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Opéra National du Capitole

The most sumptuous and dreamlike ballet, almost the “ballet par excellence”: The Sleeping Beauty, when it was first performed in St Petersburg in 1890, saw the development of an exemplary collaboration between choreographer (Petipa), composer (Tchaikovsky), and the director of the Imperial Theatres, Vsevoložskij, who also created the costumes, to present to the Petersburg nobility the fabulous grandeur of the court of King Louis XIV. It was at La Scala that Nureyev entrusted the debut of his Sleeping Beauty in 1966, performing on stage alongside Carla Fracci in a role considered a key ballet in his artistic life. From the original choreography, Nureyev managed to preserve its purity while infusing it with a new theatrical breath, with a complex choreography that revealed the characters’ psychology, the Prince among them. Six years after the previous performances, the production returns in the setting created by Oscar-winning designer Franca Squarciapino for La Scala in 1993, splendid in its exquisite décor and costumes evoking the court of Versailles.

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The Sleeping Beauty

Teatro alla Scala

The Sleeping Beauty - UNDER30 Preview

The name Rigoletto is borrowed from a parody of Victor Hugo’s play, while the opera is based on an original prose piece (for a change) penned by the author of Les Misérables. The road to operatic stages was long and bumpy: it began in 1844, it ended seven years later. Censorship kept intently weeding out the 'indecency and vulgarity' of the libretto, disregarding the logical and dramatic consequences of these interventions. If we compare the starting point with the arrival point, it would turn out that there is barely anything left of the first version – even the names were changed in order to hide the association with Hugo, whom the authorities did not regard with kindness. It had certain, shall we say, rather unobvious results: the title character has no real aria to sing, the prima donna has but one, and the acts break off, say, spontaneously. Verdi’s genius, however, trumped the authorities in the end. The opera immediately won the hearts of the audiences – and nothing has changed since the world premiere in that regard. The Warsaw staging begins with a riot of colours, textures, shapes, flashes, gilding and jewels – I had the impression that I was seeing the tinted Orthodox churches of Kremlin of absolutely incomprehensible beauty and physics, suddenly descended in human form. Well it does not matter, what exactly descended, what matters is that the singing is done in Italian. And it shakes you.



Rigoletto

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

Directed by the Goya Award-winning Mario Gas, this stunning Madame Butterfly gets a cinematic twist as all the action takes place on a 1930s film set. Korean soprano Karah Son reprises her signature role as Puccini’s tragic heroine trying to find her way in a world dominated by men. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman is the callous Pinkerton, with Hyona Kim as Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San’s devoted maid who sees right past his gentlemanly facade, and Michael Sumuel as Sharpless, the sympathetic American consul. James Conlon, "the most accomplished music director currently working on the podium of an American opera house" (Opera News), opens the season conducting Puccini's poignant and unforgettable score.

Madame Butterfly

The Music Center

Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the sophisticated French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco–inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. Soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov—both making their Met debuts—complete the cast as Lisette and Prunier.

Puccini’s La Rondine

Miller Symphony Hall

Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his highly anticipated company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco–inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. In their Met debuts, soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov complete the sterling cast as Lisette and Prunier.

La Rondine

Lincoln Center

Irresistible attraction, all-consuming passion, tragic consequences: Shakespeare’s heartbreaking tale is reimagined in a ballet that is “as vital, as alive and as stirring as can be” (The Telegraph ★★★★★).

Romeo & Juliet

London Coliseum

Italy is the world’s leading exporter of beauty in all its forms, including architecture, music, and the creative arts. This production of Rigoletto, directed by Gilberto Deflo and designed by Ezio Frigerio, should be featured on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The dazzling music conveys a range of emotions, from joie de vivre to passion, despair, and mourning. The production is also a glowing tribute to stagecraft. The Duke of Mantua’s fabulous palace appears onstage only for a quarter of an hour, but its execution is timelessly beautiful. During the interval, the Polish National Opera’s well-coordinated technical crew carefully dismantles the ducal residence’s breathtaking stained glass, so that the audience can immerse themselves in a different mood in the subsequent act with the memory of the palace’s opulence still fresh in their minds. Once the curtain goes up again, the astonished public watches the stage being flooded with pouring rain… Nowadays, it is extremely rare to witness an opera staging that is both faithful to its era and genuinely compelling. This is classic opera at its best.

Costume Designer

Franca Squarciapino

Events

Upcoming events

14 - 24 Jan, 2027

Romeo & Juliet · London Coliseum

21 - 31 Jan, 2027

Rigoletto · Polish National Opera

Past events

Feb 20 - Mar 1, 2026

Lucia di Lammermoor · Opéra national du Capitole

Dec 18, 2025 - Jan 13, 2026

The Sleeping Beauty · Teatro alla Scala

About

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