Conductor

Love tangles, deception, double standards: Rossini ignites a fast-paced firework display in the lively overture to his opera La scala di seta. Hardly anyone could deliver this with more spirit than a stylistically assured conductor like Antonino Fogliani. Things get exciting in Bruno Maderna's Giardino religioso. There are no fixed sequences here; musicians and conductor decide in real time where the journey will take them. It sounds chaotic, but it's cleverly executed! The result is a truly special concert moment. No less thrilling is Nino Rota's Bassoon Concerto, played by Sophie Dervaux, the principal bassoonist of the Vienna Philharmonic. Rota was much more than "just" a film music genius. In addition to ten operas, he composed numerous other works – and this charming, joyful concerto. Haydn's Symphony "Mit dem Paukenschlag", which sparkles with wit and inventiveness, is another highlight of a program that promises to be as unusual as it is entertaining.

Haydn: Symphony No. 9 “With the Timpani Roll”

The Bell, Bremen

Three riddles must be solved by anyone who wants to marry the beautiful and ice-cold Princess Turandot. Anyone who fails them will be punished with death. But Prince Kalaf, who is unknown in the kingdom, passes the trial. Turandot desperately searches for a way to escape marriage to the much-hated man... With “Nessun dorma”, Puccini created one of the most famous tenor arias in opera literature. For the Taiwanese director Huan-Hsiung Li, Puccini's opera is a fairy tale, which he tells in the form of a dream that drifts back to the ancient Yuan dynasty.

Turan­dot

Theater Duisburg

German Oper am Rhein

The Queen of the Night asks Tamino to free Pamina from the clutches of the supposed villain Sarastro. And so, together with the bird catcher Papageno, he sets out to become a hero. But there are many surprises awaiting him on his adventurous rescue mission... Barrie Kosky's multimedia staging, which the director developed together with the British artists' collective “1927”, has long enjoyed cult status around the world. The imaginative interplay of scene, music and video animation elegantly transposes Mozart's opera into the present day.

The Magic Flute

La Fille du régiment, or the “regiment’s daughter”, is what they call the young Marie, who was found when just a child on the battlefield by soldiers. The troops commit to raising the evidently abandoned girl themselves. A young man of course must soon enter the scene and stir a special interest in her, and the secret of her origins will soon also be revealed. In the best tradition of French opéra comique, with his team of librettists, Gaetano Donizetti created a piece that in a truly original way combines Alpine idyll, patriotic enthusiasm and romantic love with comic situations and heightened conflicts. While Donizetti’s piece was at times extremely popular, the “regiment’s daughter” faded from favour somewhat in the 20th century. It can now be rediscovered, from the famous overture right through to the both amusing and cryptic music, in its first new production at the Bayerische Staatsoper in almost ninety years.

La Fille du régiment

Max-Joseph-Platz

“The artist is a man, and he must write for men. … and you will see true hatred and its bitter fruit.” In the Pagliacci prologue, Tonio tells us what this opera is about – it seeks to put the reality of life on the stage. This applies for both works, which will now enjoy their first new staging at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 46 years (1978). Together Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo simply exemplify verismo. The basic situation: A woman is unfaithful. Another reveals this to the husband, and he, spurred on by this woman, takes bloody revenge on the lover. Cavalleria rusticana is about Turiddu, who returns to find his old flame Lola again, but she is now married to the carter, Alfio. Turiddu then consoles himself by seducing Santuzza. But the old love is reignited, and Lola betrays her husband, and Turiddu his girlfriend. In Pagliacci, the plot revolves around Nedda and her husband Canio, the leader of a group of comedians. Nedda’s love for him has grown cold, so she turns to the farmer, Silvio.

Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci

Tosca

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Theatre, theatre everywhere! During rehearsals for the highly tragic period piece ‘Romulus and Ersilia’, everything somehow goes wrong: the prima donna doesn't feel well, the trouser role doesn't like itself and the tenor finally wants to play first violin.

Mom first!

This subject simply has everything for a gripping opera: courtly intrigue, deception, secret identities, and revelations. "La Favorite" is a story about the scandalous love between a king and his mistress—and about the honest love between the mistress and a young monk. A masterpiece by Gaetano Donizetti, it combines the high art of French opera with Italian bel canto.

EPSG:4326

La Favorite | KLANGVOKAL Music Festival Dortmund

Konzerthaus Dortmund

The story of Cinderella, her evil stepsisters, her malign stepfather and her eternal quest for happiness. It all begins with hassles and endless coloratura. But then: Prince Charming arrives! The legendary, effervescent production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle is today a chapter of operatic history: a priceless legacy.

La Cenerentola

What is worth living and dying for – love, art, freedom? This question lies at the heart of Tosca, uniquely blending musical brilliance with a gripping plot and historical events with archetypes of the operatic stage. Throughout a single fateful night, the audience follows the story of the singer Floria Tosca, the painter Mario Cavaradossi and the unscrupulous police chief Scarpia, a night that ends fatally for all three. The greatest stars of opera history have graced Boleslaw Barlog’s historically accurate production for over 50 years. Joining this chronicle for the first time in this season’s initial run are, among others, Aleksandra Kurzak, who has already sung Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera in London, and Roberto Alagna, who showcases his exceptional tenor in another role at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Antonino Fogliani, one of the most gifted Puccini conductors of our time, will be appearing at Deutsche Oper Berlin for the first time.

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Undoubtedly one of the most famous melodies in operatic history is the popular prisoners’ chorus «Va pensiero,» from Nabucco, which in Verdi’s time was even considered the unofficial national anthem of Italy. Beyond this, however, it was also Verdi’s unerring instinct for theatrically effective situations that made Nabucco the composer’s first major success; here, too, Verdi found his very personal musical-dramatic language. The powerful, contrasting choral scenes, which address the Babylonian-Hebrew conflict, the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile of the Jews are juxtaposed with the story of the disintegration of a ruling family: Abigaille and Fenena are half-sisters, both in love with the young Jew Ismaele. Their father, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, descends into madness and despair. The title role features the charismatic baritone Nicola Alaimo, deeply rooted in the Italian tradition, alongside the radiant Saoia Hernández as Abigaille. The fiery Verdi conductor Antonino Fogliani leads the performance.

Nabucco

The aging and headstrong Don Pasquale dreams of marrying a young woman. But his supposed bride turns out to be a cunning schemer: the self-assured Norina and the shady Dottor Malatesta play a cruel trick on the old man, a blend of comedy and hurt. "Don Pasquale" is one of Gaetano Donizetti's last operas. This dramma buffo showcases the composer's mastery and keen understanding of human nature, written shortly before the tragic end of his life. Director Christof Loy presents Donizetti's classic beyond all buffo clichés, with a subtle, bittersweet touch. The title role is sung by Johannes Martin Kränzle, one of the most distinguished character actors of our time.

Conductor

Antonino Fogliani

Events

Upcoming events

Jun 7, 2026

La Favorite | KLANGVOKAL Music Festival Dortmund · WDR Funkhausorchester

9 - 11 Jul, 2026

La Cenerentola · Bayerische Staatsoper

Sep 6, 2026 - Jul 3, 2027

Tosca · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Apr 24 - May 14, 2027

Nabucco · Deutsche Oper Berlin

May 23 - Jun 11, 2027

Don Pasquale · Opernhaus Zürich

Past events

23 - 24 Feb, 2026

Haydn: Symphony No. 9 “With the Timpani Roll” · Bremer Philharmoniker

Jan 9 - Apr 12, 2026

Turan­dot · Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Turandot by Puccini

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Conductor in Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni

Bayerische Staatsoper

Conductor in La scala di seta by Rossini

Bremer Philharmoniker

Conductor in Don Pasquale by Donizetti

Opernhaus Zürich

Conductor in Pagliacci by Leoncavallo

Bayerische Staatsoper

Conductor in The Magic Flute by Mozart

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Conductor in La Cenerentola by Rossini

Bayerische Staatsoper

Conductor in Tosca by Puccini

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Conductor in Nabucco by Verdi

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Conductor in Bassoon Concerto by Rota

Bremer Philharmoniker

Conductor in La fille du régiment by Donizetti

Bayerische Staatsoper

Conductor in Prima la Mamma! by Donizetti

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Conductor in Symphony No. 94 by Haydn

Bremer Philharmoniker

Conductor in Giardino religioso by Maderna

Bremer Philharmoniker

About

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Turandot · Deutsche Oper am Rhein