Plácido Domingo debuts in a new role at the Arena di Verona
Protagonist on stage at the special event dedicated to Verdi with a cast of stars: Maria José Siri, Fabio Sartori, Clémentine Margaine and, for the first time at the Arena, basso Ildar Abdrazakov. The Arena’s Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Jordi Bernàcer
For the 2022 Festival there will once again be an extraordinary event by the great Plácido Domingo who, right from his Italian debut, precisely at the Arena in 1969, has always maintained strong ties with Verona for his entire lengthy career, studded with extraordinary successes as a tenor, baritone and orchestra conductor, without forgetting his vocation for discovering young talents.
Domingo in Verdi Opera Night
Thursday 25th August 2022 - 9:00 pm
The gala of the 99th Arena di Verona Opera Festival, scheduled for Thursday 25th August at 9 pm, will have Verdi repertoire as its common denominator and will be a journey through three of the Busseto composer’s greatest masterpieces: Macbeth, Don Carlo and Aida, featuring Domingo performing on stage three intense baritone roles, one of which will be an absolute stage debut for the Madrid artist’s record-breaking repertoire, which has exceeded 150 roles.
The direction of the unmissable appointment Domingo in Verdi Opera Night is by Stefano Trespidi, undisputed expert of the spaces of the Verona Amphitheatre, who further strengthens his relationship with Plácido Domingo, which began in 2009 and continued in 2017, culminating in the extraordinary success of the special event in 2019, a truly festive evening celebrating the important anniversary of the 50th year from the very first performance by the Maestro at the Arena and in Italy.
Set design is entrusted to the expert hands of Ezio Antonelli, who has realized set and visual designs for events with Plácido Domingo when Fondazione Arena travelled to Tokyo in 2010 and Muscat in 2018 and, more recently, for the unforgettable Arena gala in 2019.
It will be an extraordinary appointment in scenic form comprising three opera acts, with just as many unique surprises for Arena spectators. The evening’s program opens with the rich dramatic Act 2 of Macbeth, a masterpiece rarely performed at the amphitheatre (the last time was twenty five years ago): alongside Domingo in the leading role from both a vocal and acting point of view in the final banquet scene, the immense stage will host a unique Lady Macbeth by soprano Maria José Siri, an internationally famous artist with an highly adaptable singing style and extraordinary performing character and, with the Assassin performed by Gabriele Sagona, Macduff by tenor Fabio Sartori, an acclaimed Verdi performer whose precious voice recalls the golden years of opera, and above all, on his Arena debut, the great Russian basso Ildar Abdrazakov, among the most sought-after artists by the world’s major theatres, putting himself to the test with Banco’s famous scene and aria.
Don Carlo is another monumental Verdi opera, a milestone in the Arena’s history (exactly thirty years from its last performance) and above all in the career of Domingo, who performed it at a very young age in Verona on the year of his Italian debut. This time, the Madrid star will give his face, voice and body to the character of Rodrigo, one of the most intense and popular roles of Verdi’s baritone repertoire.
From the Italian version in four acts, by Verdi himself after the Parisian première, four key scenes will be performed, including the aria of Don Carlo, with Fabio Sartori in the leading role, Princess Eboli‘s dramatic aria, which will feature the debut of successful young French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine, Elisabetta’s great aria, Tu che le vanità, which will be performed by Maria José Siri. Plácido Domingo will deal with one of the most imposing complex parts of the opera and of all Verdi’s operas, which condensed dramatic power and political thought: Rodrigo’s scene and duet with King Philip II of Spain, performed by Ildar Abdrazakov.
After Shakespeare and Schiller, during his artistic maturity, Verdi also took inspiration from the original plot of Egyptologist Auguste Mariette: this resulted in Aida, a sumptuous masterpiece of fantasy recalling a far-off period and world. From the Arena’s top-ranking opera, Scene 2 of Act 2 will be performed in its entirety, with the triumph and grand finale concertato.
Domingo will make his debut in the baritone role of Amonasro, father of the Ethiopian princess, performed by Maria José Siri, in love with the warrior Radamès by Fabio Sartori. Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine will be her rival Amneris, while Ildar Abdrazakov will perform the part of the High Priest Ramfis, the opera’s main basso role.
In a rich completely new show full of numerous mimes and walk-ons, the protagonists will obviously include the Orchestra, the Chorus directed by the new chorusmaster Ulisse Trabacchin, as well as the Dance Company and Technicians of Fondazione Arena di Verona.
On the podium for this exceptional event will be Valencia maestro Jordi Bernàcer, a regular guest at the Arena with a solid international career, also conducting the Arena’s orchestra and chorus in the various orchestral and choral works, such as the Prelude and the Chorus of the Assassins from Macbeth, the Prelude to Act 2 from Don Carlo, and finishing with Aida’s noble highly famous triumphal march and ballabile.
Tickets for the Domingo in Verdi Opera Night gala are on sale from €26.00 to €300.00 at this link.
