The Teatro San Carlo in Naples is undoubtedly the most beautiful opera theater in Italy (without forgetting, of course, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice or the Scala in Milan). A visit to the capital of Campania can only result in the booking of opera places to attend a performance in this place of legend. The season is sufficiently packed to find the ballet, the opera or the concert of your liking. The season 2018-2019 shows, as usual, the great opera performances such as I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo and Verdi’s masterpieces, La Traviata and Nabucco (with Anna Pirozzi in the role of Abigaille) or this immortal Bohemian of Puccini ideally programmed in winter.
As for ballet, The Nutcracker is an essential part of the end of the year festivities that always delights young and old. Swan Lake and The Midsummer Night’s Dream are shows of incredible intensity and lyricism that you have to see and see again. To note also, this famous Pulcinella on the music of Stravinsky brought to life in the choreography of Francesco Nappa.
Since taking over the artistic direction of the orchestra (Ochestra del Teatro di San Carlo), conductor Juraj Valčuha has been offering a series of excellent concerts. With distinguished guests such as renowned conductors Andris Poga and Yutaka Sado, he has built a symphonic program that encompasses the great composers, Beethoven in the lead. The symphonies of the German composer are at the heart of a marathon day with the Ninth as a culmination with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai. Other concerts directed by Juraj Valcuha include a sixth of Mahler and a powerful Messa da Requiem of Verdi with a fine cast.
More about great voices, two key recitals are announced. The opportunities to applaud the soprano Mariella Devia have become rare, so we must rush to book our tickets. Is it necessary to present Cecilia Bartoli who also comes to Naples for a singing recital with Les Musiciens du Prince? Big stars are expected this season 2018-2019 as Maxim Vengerov or young and talented Gregory Sokolov and Conrad Tao. Valery Gergiev creates the event with the Mariinsky Orchestra in a program of Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky and Debussy. But for the international opera scene, it is the production of Mozart’s masterpiece, Così fan tutte, which is the highlight of the season. The staging is entrusted to Chiara Muti and the direction to her father, the immense Riccardo Muti, without doubt the greatest conductor today.
Opera is obviously at the center of the rich programming. The Italian repertoire is in its place in the wonderful Teatro San Carlo of Naples with gems of opera such as Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana (with Marcelo Álvarez), the rare Rossini’s Ermione, Verdi’s ballad in maschera or this Madama Butterfly from Puccini where Aleksandra Kurzak and Amarilli Nizza alternate. However, the great international repertoire is not forgotten thanks to Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann, Wagner’s Die Walküre or Janácek’s moving Káta Kabanová directed by Juraj Valcuha and staged by Willy Decker. Also noteworthy, the Baroque opera, Siroe, Re di Persia by Leornado Vinci and Gershwin’s musical, Lady be good, which are on display at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. All you have to do is reserve your tickets!
