ABOUT
Lucia di Lammermoor is Gaetano Donizetti’s well-known opera that shows off his individual style. This version comes as a result of collaboration between NCPA and Mariinsky Theatre. Prestigious stage director Yannis Kokkos is going to helm this version and perform both set and costume design. This time by using sharp contrast in colours and rich metaphors in expression, Kokkos may recapture the aesthetics of the late 17th century as a salute to this classic Italian opera and the maestro’s 220th birth anniversary on a romantic basis of the original work. And a star-studded cast including Viniera Jimartiyeva, ZHANG Liping, Stefanow Saiko, SHI Yijie, Marco Kalia, ZHANG Yang, Sergey Artamonov, TIAN Haojiang along with veteran conductor Daniel Oren will bring Beijing audiences a visual feast.
After the premiere in Beijing, this opera will hit the Mariinsky Theatre as planned.
Click here for Chinese.
SYNOPSIS
At Lammermoor, Scotland in the late 17th century, the clans of Lord Enrico Ashton and Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood have long been in feud. Ashton killed Edgardo’s father and seized his lands and properties. Then one day, Enrico’s younger sister Lucia gets assaulted by a wild ox nearby her mother’s graveyard. By chance, Edgardo passes by and comes to her rescue. They fall into love with each other ever since.
At Lammermoor, Scotland in the late 17th century, the clans of Lord Enrico Ashton and Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood have long been in feud. Ashton killed Edgardo’s father and seized his lands and properties. Then one day, Enrico’s younger sister Lucia gets assaulted by a wild ox nearby her mother’s graveyard. By chance, Edgardo passes by and comes to her rescue. They fall into love with each other ever since.
CREATIVE
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Conductor: Daniel OrenHe has conducted NCPA productions of Macbeth, Turandot, Il Trovatore, Norma, La Gioconda, etc.
With a natural talent, Daniel Oren developed his own particular interest for the Opera by the great Leonard Bernstein who in 1968 chose him, just 13 years old, as lead vocalist in his Chichester Psalms for the inauguration of the Israel Television. In reality, it was the mother to start the young Daniel, still at an early age, a complete musical education by studying not only the piano and cello, but with singing and harmony. Maestro Oren then perfected his studies in Europe, devoting himself almost exclusively to conducting and taken part in 1975, winning, the prestigious competition “Herbert von Karajan” for young conductors, and from that moment the young artist began an international career.
After debuting in the United States, his reputation also consolidated in Italy. In fact, he became the stable conductor in Rome and at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste (where he was recently music director), at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples and at the Carlo Felice in Genoa.
He is Artist Director of Teatro Verdi in Salerno where he often conducts during the opera season. He is also a regular guest in Paris, at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as well as in Tel Aviv, Verona, Florence, Madrid, Cologne and Barcelona. -
Stage Director/Set Designer/Costume Designer: Yannis KokkosYannis Kokkos was born in Athens. Since 1963 he has lived in France and studied scenography at the École Superieure d’Art Dramatique in Strasbourg. One important stage in Kokkos’ career was his collaboration with the theatre director Antoine Vitez which lasted 30 years (1960-1990), together with whom he staged productions at the Comédie Française, the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, the Théâtre National de Chaillot and the Festival of Avignon (Le Soulier de Satin, Elektra and Hamlet). As a set designer, Kokkos has worked with major music theatres throughout the world, among them the Opéra de Paris (Macbeth), La Scala and Covent Garden (Pelléas et Mélisande), the Wiener Staatsoper (Die Zauberflöte), the San Francisco Opera (Elektra) and the Hamburg Staatsballett (Ondine). Since 1987 he has also worked as a stage director of operas and dramas. Kokkos’ opera productions have met with great acclaim from critics and the public, among them Götterdämmerung, Iphigénie en Aulide, Der Fliegende Holländer and Assassinio nella cattedrale (La Scala), La clemenza di Tito (Welsh National Opera), Tristan und Isolde (Théâtre de la Monnaie), Hänsel und Gretel (Grand Théâtre de Genève), Medea (Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse), La Damnation de Faust and Les Troyens (Théâtre du Châtelet), Die Frau ohne Schatten (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), Xenakis’ Oresteia (Gibellina festival, Sicily), Berio’s Outis and Henze’s The Bassarids (French premieres, Théâtre du Châtelet), Boris Godunov (the Wiener Staatsoper), Cavalleria rusticana and I pagliacci (Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse), Der Fliegende Holländer and Otello (Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Greece), Tristan und Isolde (Greek National Opera, first performance in Greece), Nabucco (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, Spain), Turandot (Opéra national de Montpellier, France), Don Quichotte, Les Troyens and Samson et Dalila (Mariinsky Theatre, all three conducted by Valery Gergiev).
Yannis Kokkos also collaborated with many great conductors including Abbado, Muti, Mehta, Mackerras, Sokaev, Gatti, von Donhany and Valery Gergiev.
He has received numerous awards including the Laurence Olivier Prize, two Molière prizes, the golden medal at the Prague Quadrennial and the Critic Prize for his production of the first integral version of Les Troyens. He has also won the Commandeur of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. -
Artistic Collaboration: Anne Blancard-KokkosAnne Blancard was born in Montpellier (France). She studied acting under Georges Le Roy, Jean-Marie Serreau and Jean Vilar at the École Charles Dullin. As an actress she has appeared in various theatre productions. As a journalist, Blancard has been involved in the preparation and production of cultural programmes on Conarky (Guinea) radio. She has released and presented political and cultural magazines for Deutsche Welle and also for the International Radio France.
Since 1987 Blancard has worked as a dramatist with the stage director Yannis Kokkos on almost of his productions at the world’s great theatres including La Scala, Covent Garden, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Paris, etc. Some of the most recent collaborations with Yannis Kokkos are: Dido and Aeneas (Opéra de Bordeau), Les Troyens and The Bassarids(Théâtre du Châtelet), Idomeneo (Opéra de Nancy), Nabucco (Staatsoper Munich), Assassinio nella cattedrale (Teatro alla Scala), Frau ohne Shatten (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), Turandot (Opéra national de Lorraine), Der Fliegende Holländer (Athens Festival, Herode Atticus Théâtre), Don Quichotte, Les Troyens and Samson et Dalila (Mariinsky Theatre, all three conducted by Valery Gergiev). -
Lighting Designer: Vinicio CheliFrom 1974 to 1979, Vinicio Cheli worked at the "Maggio Musicale Fiorentino" involved in all productions. Since 1979 he joined the "Piccolo Teatro" of Milan and became the light collaborator of Giorgio Strehler, making the entire production of Piccolo until 1989. Since 1987, for four years, he worked with the "Rossini Opera Festival" to produce shows with several directors. At the same time since 1989 he worked at the Salzburg Festival, Theatre Champs-Elysees, Chalet Theatre in Paris with the set design by Ezio Frigerio, then responded to the La Scala in Milan. Re collaborated some years with the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
The 90s of the last century saw him work in The Opera Bastille, National Theatre of Prague, Festival of Aix En Provance, Ravenna Festival, the Opera of Monte Carlo, Opera of Geneva, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Festival Baroque de Versailles, Opera Garnier in Paris, Easter Festival in Salzburg, Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Atticus Theater in Athens, Ginza Saison Theater in Tokyo, Arena di Verona, Venice Biennale Theatre section, Theater of the axes of Brussels, Amsterdam Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, National Theatre of Catalunya in Barcelona, Opera of Toulouse, Teatro Real Madrid, Metropolitan in New York and collaboration with P. L. Pizzi, Ezio Frigerio, Hugo de Ana, KM Gruber, Henning Brockaus, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, to name just a few.
In the new millennium, Vinicio Cheli continued to expand his collaboration with Ezio Frigerio, Hugo de Ana, F. Zeffirelli, V. Gergiev, Claudio Abbado, Nicola Joel, Quirino Conti, Mario Gas, in productions covering a vast realm of the opera repertoire. Last year, he set up La donna del lago of Rossini directed by Luis Pasqual with scenes by Ezio Frigerio and costumes by Franca Squarciapino; Boris Godunov of Teatro Regio di Torinon directed by Andrei Konchalovsky.In the beginning of 2011, he worked in Senso, a new opera of Teatro Massimo di Palermo directed, scenes and costumes by Hugo de Ana. Vinicio Cheli also taught theatrical lighting at the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and at the Professional School of La Scala.
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Conductor: Daniel OrenHe has conducted NCPA productions of Macbeth, Turandot, Il Trovatore, Norma, La Gioconda, etc.
With a natural talent, Daniel Oren developed his own particular interest for the Opera by the great Leonard Bernstein who in 1968 chose him, just 13 years old, as lead vocalist in his Chichester Psalms for the inauguration of the Israel Television. In reality, it was the mother to start the young Daniel, still at an early age, a complete musical education by studying not only the piano and cello, but with singing and harmony. Maestro Oren then perfected his studies in Europe, devoting himself almost exclusively to conducting and taken part in 1975, winning, the prestigious competition “Herbert von Karajan” for young conductors, and from that moment the young artist began an international career.
After debuting in the United States, his reputation also consolidated in Italy. In fact, he became the stable conductor in Rome and at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste (where he was recently music director), at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples and at the Carlo Felice in Genoa.
He is Artist Director of Teatro Verdi in Salerno where he often conducts during the opera season. He is also a regular guest in Paris, at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as well as in Tel Aviv, Verona, Florence, Madrid, Cologne and Barcelona. -
Stage Director/Set Designer/Costume Designer: Yannis KokkosYannis Kokkos was born in Athens. Since 1963 he has lived in France and studied scenography at the École Superieure d’Art Dramatique in Strasbourg. One important stage in Kokkos’ career was his collaboration with the theatre director Antoine Vitez which lasted 30 years (1960-1990), together with whom he staged productions at the Comédie Française, the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, the Théâtre National de Chaillot and the Festival of Avignon (Le Soulier de Satin, Elektra and Hamlet). As a set designer, Kokkos has worked with major music theatres throughout the world, among them the Opéra de Paris (Macbeth), La Scala and Covent Garden (Pelléas et Mélisande), the Wiener Staatsoper (Die Zauberflöte), the San Francisco Opera (Elektra) and the Hamburg Staatsballett (Ondine). Since 1987 he has also worked as a stage director of operas and dramas. Kokkos’ opera productions have met with great acclaim from critics and the public, among them Götterdämmerung, Iphigénie en Aulide, Der Fliegende Holländer and Assassinio nella cattedrale (La Scala), La clemenza di Tito (Welsh National Opera), Tristan und Isolde (Théâtre de la Monnaie), Hänsel und Gretel (Grand Théâtre de Genève), Medea (Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse), La Damnation de Faust and Les Troyens (Théâtre du Châtelet), Die Frau ohne Schatten (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), Xenakis’ Oresteia (Gibellina festival, Sicily), Berio’s Outis and Henze’s The Bassarids (French premieres, Théâtre du Châtelet), Boris Godunov (the Wiener Staatsoper), Cavalleria rusticana and I pagliacci (Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse), Der Fliegende Holländer and Otello (Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Greece), Tristan und Isolde (Greek National Opera, first performance in Greece), Nabucco (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, Spain), Turandot (Opéra national de Montpellier, France), Don Quichotte, Les Troyens and Samson et Dalila (Mariinsky Theatre, all three conducted by Valery Gergiev).
Yannis Kokkos also collaborated with many great conductors including Abbado, Muti, Mehta, Mackerras, Sokaev, Gatti, von Donhany and Valery Gergiev.
He has received numerous awards including the Laurence Olivier Prize, two Molière prizes, the golden medal at the Prague Quadrennial and the Critic Prize for his production of the first integral version of Les Troyens. He has also won the Commandeur of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. -
Artistic Collaboration: Anne Blancard-KokkosAnne Blancard was born in Montpellier (France). She studied acting under Georges Le Roy, Jean-Marie Serreau and Jean Vilar at the École Charles Dullin. As an actress she has appeared in various theatre productions. As a journalist, Blancard has been involved in the preparation and production of cultural programmes on Conarky (Guinea) radio. She has released and presented political and cultural magazines for Deutsche Welle and also for the International Radio France.
Since 1987 Blancard has worked as a dramatist with the stage director Yannis Kokkos on almost of his productions at the world’s great theatres including La Scala, Covent Garden, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Paris, etc. Some of the most recent collaborations with Yannis Kokkos are: Dido and Aeneas (Opéra de Bordeau), Les Troyens and The Bassarids(Théâtre du Châtelet), Idomeneo (Opéra de Nancy), Nabucco (Staatsoper Munich), Assassinio nella cattedrale (Teatro alla Scala), Frau ohne Shatten (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), Turandot (Opéra national de Lorraine), Der Fliegende Holländer (Athens Festival, Herode Atticus Théâtre), Don Quichotte, Les Troyens and Samson et Dalila (Mariinsky Theatre, all three conducted by Valery Gergiev). -
Lighting Designer: Vinicio CheliFrom 1974 to 1979, Vinicio Cheli worked at the "Maggio Musicale Fiorentino" involved in all productions. Since 1979 he joined the "Piccolo Teatro" of Milan and became the light collaborator of Giorgio Strehler, making the entire production of Piccolo until 1989. Since 1987, for four years, he worked with the "Rossini Opera Festival" to produce shows with several directors. At the same time since 1989 he worked at the Salzburg Festival, Theatre Champs-Elysees, Chalet Theatre in Paris with the set design by Ezio Frigerio, then responded to the La Scala in Milan. Re collaborated some years with the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
The 90s of the last century saw him work in The Opera Bastille, National Theatre of Prague, Festival of Aix En Provance, Ravenna Festival, the Opera of Monte Carlo, Opera of Geneva, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Festival Baroque de Versailles, Opera Garnier in Paris, Easter Festival in Salzburg, Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Atticus Theater in Athens, Ginza Saison Theater in Tokyo, Arena di Verona, Venice Biennale Theatre section, Theater of the axes of Brussels, Amsterdam Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, National Theatre of Catalunya in Barcelona, Opera of Toulouse, Teatro Real Madrid, Metropolitan in New York and collaboration with P. L. Pizzi, Ezio Frigerio, Hugo de Ana, KM Gruber, Henning Brockaus, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, to name just a few.
In the new millennium, Vinicio Cheli continued to expand his collaboration with Ezio Frigerio, Hugo de Ana, F. Zeffirelli, V. Gergiev, Claudio Abbado, Nicola Joel, Quirino Conti, Mario Gas, in productions covering a vast realm of the opera repertoire. Last year, he set up La donna del lago of Rossini directed by Luis Pasqual with scenes by Ezio Frigerio and costumes by Franca Squarciapino; Boris Godunov of Teatro Regio di Torinon directed by Andrei Konchalovsky.In the beginning of 2011, he worked in Senso, a new opera of Teatro Massimo di Palermo directed, scenes and costumes by Hugo de Ana. Vinicio Cheli also taught theatrical lighting at the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and at the Professional School of La Scala. -
Projection Designer: Sergio MetalliSergio Metalli was born in Rimini in 1956 and he is dedicated to his passion for electronics that bring him to choose studies along those lines.
His versatility led him to perform collaborations in all areas at the highest levels like the State television, to have daily collaborations with artists like Dario Fo, Tonino Guerra, Mietta Corli, Hugo de Ana, Nicolas Joel, Ezio Frigerio, Josep Maria Flotats, Lindsay Kemp, Pier'Alli, Gianni Quaranta, Raffaele Curi, Lluis Pasqual, José Carlos Plaza, Tito Egurza, Margherita Palli, Luca Ronconi, William Landi, Peter Stein, Vladimir Vasiliev and many others passing from international conferences until the Theatre which he has a very special feeling.
In over a decade of successful career he has made over 360 productions and he has worked with major opera theatres around the world. -
Chorus Master: Salvatore CaputoAfter graduating in piano at the Conservatory of Salerno under the guidance of Franco Pinna and the High School of Sapri, Salvatore Caputo gained experience in the cities of Florence (choral conducting with Vittorio Sicuri, orchestral conducting with Bruno Rigacci, repertoire of opera from the 1900s with Giancarlo Montanaro), Pisa (operatic repertoire with Pieralba Soroga), Bologna (orchestral conducting with Corrado De Sessa at the Philharmonic Academy) and Milan (directing with Paolo Vaglieri).
From March 2000 to December 2004, he worked at the Teatro Comunale in Florence as assistant to Maestro José Luis Basso, with the Choir of Florence. In February 2005, Maestro Tito Capobianco invited he to the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires as a chorus master. He thus became the fourth Italian Maestro to hold this prestigious position following in the footsteps of Tullio Boni, Romano Gandolfi and Vittorio Sicuri.
In September 2009, he was invited by Maestros Gianni Tangucci and Cesare Mazzonis to be chorus master at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples. Under the guidance of Maestro Riccardo Muti, Maurizio Benini and James Conlon, he was successful in the playing of the Stabat Mater and Rossini's Messe Solemnelle, in Requiem, Stabat Mater and Verdi's Te Deum. In the field of opera, the choir has gained the great success of critics and the audience in Verdi'’s I Masnadieri (DVD) and Vepres Siciliennes, of which the complete version was produced under the guidance of Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti, Fliegende Hollander of Wagner, in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with the magnificent direction of Daniele Finzi Pasca, Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess conducted by Wayne Marshall.
For the Theatre, he directed Bernstein's Chichester psalms, Dallapiccola's Canti di prigionia, Faure's Requiem, Liszt’s version of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Carmina Burana by Orff, Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, Puccini's Requiem, Taralli's Stabat mater, Ramirez's Misa Criolla, Guastavino’s Indianas, Bo Holten's Valsevaerk No. 2, Rachmaninov's Op. 15 and Panariello's Requiem.
He was part of the travel to Russian, Chile, to the Les Nuits de Fourviere festival in Lyon, to the 41 Hong Kong's Festival, at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, the Roman Theatre in Pompeii and to the archaeological areas of San Leucio and Paestum.
In July 2014 he won the international public competition organized by the Grand Theatre of Bordeaux in France to fill the place of choirmaster where he worked with Marc Minkovsky.
ARTIST
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Lucia (Soprano): Venera Gimadieva (Apr. 9, Apr. 11)Highlights of the 2016-17 season include the Queen of Shemakha The Golden Cockerel (for house debuts at La Monnaie, Brussels and Santa Fe Opera, as well as a return to the Teatro Real, Madrid); the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in Zürich and Beijing; and Violetta La traviata in Dresden.
The 2015-16 season saw Gimadieva sing Violetta in La traviata for both her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and her USA debut at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. She also sang Norina Don Pasquale at the Bolshoi; the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in Limoges, Rheims and Rouen; Giulietta I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Deutsche Oper Berlin; and Elvira I puritani at the Teatro Real Madrid.
Other recent engagements include her first Juliette in Roméo et Juliette opposite Juan Diego Flórez’s first Roméo in Lima, Violetta La traviata (La Fenice, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Paris Opera, Opéra de Limoges, Opéra de Reims, Hungarian State Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival), Gilda Rigoletto (Hungarian State Opera), and an appearance at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra.
Gimadieva is a member of the ensemble at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, having studied on their young artist programme, as well as at the Kazan Music College and the St. Petersburg State Conservatoire. Her roles at the Bolshoi have included Gilda Rigoletto, Marfa The Tsar’s Bride, Ksenia Boris Godunov, Amina in a new production of La Sonnambula (a performance that won the 2014 Golden Mask award for Best Female Performer in Opera), Violetta in a new production of La traviata by Francesca Zambello, the title role of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow-Maiden, the Queen of Shemakha in a new production of The Golden Cockerel by Kirill Serebriannikov and conducted by Vassily Sinaisky, Sirin in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and Maiden Fevronia, and Serpina in Pergolesi’s La serva padrona. Concert performances in Moscow include Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. -
Lucia (Soprano): ZHANG Liping (Apr. 10, Apr. 12)A series of outstanding interpretations in both the bel canto and lyric repertoire have established ZHANG Liping as one of opera’s leading international sopranos, with engagements at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, The Metropolitan Opera New York, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Regio di Parma, Opéra de Paris, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).
ZHANG came to international attention in the role of Cio-Cio-San, which she has sung at Covent Garden, the MET Opera, Opera de Paris, Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona and Deutsche Oper Berlin, amongst other theatres. She also enthralled audiences around the globe with other significant opera roles such as Violetta (La Traviata), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Mimi (La Bohème), Tosca, Liù (Turandot), Micaela (Carmen), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Leonore (Il Trovatore). In her native country, ZHANG has given many highly acclaimed performances such as the premiere of Chinese original opera Xi Shi, Tosca in the first NCPA Opera Festival and La Traviata conducted by Lorin Maazel.
In 2010, ZHANG was invited by Andrew Lloyd Webber to the premiere of his new musical, Love Never Dies in London. She was then invited to record the Chinese version of the musical’s theme song in the Asian edition released by Universal Music Group.
In 2011, ZHANG returned to The Met Opera in the performance of Madama Butterfly invited by Plácido Domingo. In 2012, ZHANG’s performance as Cio-Cio-San at Madama Butterfly at Covent Garden was recorded in 3D for transmission in theatres worldwide and for distribution on DVD. The movie was premiered in Europe and America and was then launched in 3D cinemas all over the world.
In 2014, ZHANG Liping signs an exclusive contract with Universal Music. As the label's first Chinese classical singer, she has released a Schubert lieder album “Night and Dreams” under Decca Classics in October 2014.
In 2015, ZHANG Liping released “Chinese art songs”.
In 2016, ZHANG Liping holds solo concert in National Central for the Performing Arts. Forthcoming recording projects include opera arias by Verdi.
ZHANG is currently the Head of the Vocal Opera Department of Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. -
Sir Edgardo of Ravenswood (Tenor): Stefano Secco (Apr. 9, Apr. 11)Stefano Secco began his studies of piano and singing under the guidance of M° Alberto Soresina and subsequently received a diploma in percussion with M° Tullio De Piscopo. Secco privately followed Maestri like Franco Corelli, Franca Mattiucci, and attended master classes led by Leyla Gencer and Renata Scotto, among others.
After his first professional experiences and various tours in Italy and abroad, he sang the role of Fenton in Falstaff at Teatro Verdi in Sassari and was immediately engaged by Teatro dell'Opera in Rome as a soloist tenor for Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Berlioz’s Te Deum. On the same stage, he sang the role of Rodolfo in a successful production of La Bohème.
Following these performances, Secco was soon cast to sing many important roles on the major stages worlwide, including Rigoletto (Duca of Mantova) at Teatro Regio in Turin, Wiener Staatsoper, Theatre of Toulouse, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Venezia, Baltimore, Coruna, Arena of Avenches, Stockholm and Opéra Bastille in Paris; La Bohéme (Rodolfo) at Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Opéra Bastille in Paris, at the Puccini Festival in Torre Del Lago and together with Angela Gheorghiu in a Gala in Wiesbaden; La Traviata (Alfredo) in Venice, Tokyo, Barcelona, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Florence and under the baton of M° Muti at La Scala in Milan; Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, at the Puccini Festival in Torre Del Lago and at Teatro Comunale in Florence; Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) at Deutsche Oper Berlin and in Liège; Roberto Devereux in Oviedo and at Wiener Staatsoper; Arturo in I Puritani at Teatro Bellini in Catania under the baton of M° Kuhn and recorded by BMG; Gualtiero in Il Pirata in Amsterdam conducted by M° Carella, Nemorino ne L’Elisir d’Amore at Teatre Liceu in Barcelona and at Royal Opera House in London; the important role of De Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at Grand Theatre of Geneve and at Liceu in Barcelona; Simon Boccanegra (Gabriele Adorno) at Opéra Bastille in Paris, at La Scala and in Cagliari.
He then sang Rossini’s Stabat Mater at Teatro dell'Opera in Rome conducted by M° Ranzani and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette at the new Auditorium Parco della Musica in a live radio broadcast under M° Chung; La Bohème at Teatro Regio in Parma, Rigoletto and the role of Don Carlo at Opéra Bastille in a new and successful production directed by Graham Vick, La Traviata in Tokyo, the acclaimed debut in Luisa Miller at the Staatoper in Munich, Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro Comunale in Florence, a new production of Macbeth at Opéra Bastille in Paris, Werther at Oper Frankfurt.
His future plans include: Trovatore at Opera di Roma and Lucia di Lammermoor at National Centre of performing Arts in Beijing.
Stefano’s voice has been chosen to be inserted into a sequence of the film “The perfect host” by Nick Tomnay, singing “Quando le sere al placido” from Luisa Miller. -
Sir Edgardo of Ravenswood (Tenor): SHI Yijie (Apr. 10, Apr. 12)After having been the revelation of the Rossini Opera Festival 2008, singing as Cavalier Belfiore in Ilviaggio a Reims in the 'Accademia Rossiniana' production, Shi Yijie was immediately invited back to Pesaro to sing the title role in Le Comte Ory at the Rossini Opera Festival 2009, where he has had a warm success imposing himself on the international scene.
Despite his relative youth, ShI Yijie has already acchieved success singing at internationally renowned venues such as Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia di Roma, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino di Firenze, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Deutsche Oper of Berlin, Opéra de Nancy, Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra de Lausanne, Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, TeatroComunale di Bologna, Festival Mozart de la Coruna, Teatro Arriaga de Bilbaoand De Vlaamse Opera of Antwerp, working with such conductors as Roberto Abbado, Kent Nagano and Alberto Zedda.He opened the 2013/14 season performing L'elisir d'Amore (Nemorino) at the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, followed by his return to Bejing NCPA in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and his role debut as Fernand in La Favoriteat the Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse and Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle in La Coruna.
His future plans include I Pagliacci, Don Pasquale, Der Rosenkavalier, L'italiana in Algeri andGuillaume Tell at Bejing NCPA, Falstaff (Fenton) and I Puritani (Arturo) at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, L'occasione fa illadro (Conte Alberto) at Théatre des Champs Elysées de Paris,Tancredi (Argirio) and Il turco in Italia (Narciso) at Opéra de Lausanne, Il turco in Italia (Narciso) and Tancredi at Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Rossini's Armida (Rinaldo), Mozart'sIdomeneo (Arbace) and Die Zauberfloete (Tamino) in Antwerp, as well as Il turco in Italia (Narciso) at Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse.
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Lucia (Soprano): Venera Gimadieva (Apr. 9, Apr. 11)Highlights of the 2016-17 season include the Queen of Shemakha The Golden Cockerel (for house debuts at La Monnaie, Brussels and Santa Fe Opera, as well as a return to the Teatro Real, Madrid); the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in Zürich and Beijing; and Violetta La traviata in Dresden.
The 2015-16 season saw Gimadieva sing Violetta in La traviata for both her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and her USA debut at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. She also sang Norina Don Pasquale at the Bolshoi; the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in Limoges, Rheims and Rouen; Giulietta I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Deutsche Oper Berlin; and Elvira I puritani at the Teatro Real Madrid.
Other recent engagements include her first Juliette in Roméo et Juliette opposite Juan Diego Flórez’s first Roméo in Lima, Violetta La traviata (La Fenice, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Paris Opera, Opéra de Limoges, Opéra de Reims, Hungarian State Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival), Gilda Rigoletto (Hungarian State Opera), and an appearance at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra.
Gimadieva is a member of the ensemble at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, having studied on their young artist programme, as well as at the Kazan Music College and the St. Petersburg State Conservatoire. Her roles at the Bolshoi have included Gilda Rigoletto, Marfa The Tsar’s Bride, Ksenia Boris Godunov, Amina in a new production of La Sonnambula (a performance that won the 2014 Golden Mask award for Best Female Performer in Opera), Violetta in a new production of La traviata by Francesca Zambello, the title role of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow-Maiden, the Queen of Shemakha in a new production of The Golden Cockerel by Kirill Serebriannikov and conducted by Vassily Sinaisky, Sirin in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and Maiden Fevronia, and Serpina in Pergolesi’s La serva padrona. Concert performances in Moscow include Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. -
Lucia (Soprano): ZHANG Liping (Apr. 10, Apr. 12)A series of outstanding interpretations in both the bel canto and lyric repertoire have established ZHANG Liping as one of opera’s leading international sopranos, with engagements at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, The Metropolitan Opera New York, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Regio di Parma, Opéra de Paris, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).
ZHANG came to international attention in the role of Cio-Cio-San, which she has sung at Covent Garden, the MET Opera, Opera de Paris, Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona and Deutsche Oper Berlin, amongst other theatres. She also enthralled audiences around the globe with other significant opera roles such as Violetta (La Traviata), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Mimi (La Bohème), Tosca, Liù (Turandot), Micaela (Carmen), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Leonore (Il Trovatore). In her native country, ZHANG has given many highly acclaimed performances such as the premiere of Chinese original opera Xi Shi, Tosca in the first NCPA Opera Festival and La Traviata conducted by Lorin Maazel.
In 2010, ZHANG was invited by Andrew Lloyd Webber to the premiere of his new musical, Love Never Dies in London. She was then invited to record the Chinese version of the musical’s theme song in the Asian edition released by Universal Music Group.
In 2011, ZHANG returned to The Met Opera in the performance of Madama Butterfly invited by Plácido Domingo. In 2012, ZHANG’s performance as Cio-Cio-San at Madama Butterfly at Covent Garden was recorded in 3D for transmission in theatres worldwide and for distribution on DVD. The movie was premiered in Europe and America and was then launched in 3D cinemas all over the world.
In 2014, ZHANG Liping signs an exclusive contract with Universal Music. As the label's first Chinese classical singer, she has released a Schubert lieder album “Night and Dreams” under Decca Classics in October 2014.
In 2015, ZHANG Liping released “Chinese art songs”.
In 2016, ZHANG Liping holds solo concert in National Central for the Performing Arts. Forthcoming recording projects include opera arias by Verdi.
ZHANG is currently the Head of the Vocal Opera Department of Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. -
Sir Edgardo of Ravenswood (Tenor): Stefano Secco (Apr. 9, Apr. 11)Stefano Secco began his studies of piano and singing under the guidance of M° Alberto Soresina and subsequently received a diploma in percussion with M° Tullio De Piscopo. Secco privately followed Maestri like Franco Corelli, Franca Mattiucci, and attended master classes led by Leyla Gencer and Renata Scotto, among others.
After his first professional experiences and various tours in Italy and abroad, he sang the role of Fenton in Falstaff at Teatro Verdi in Sassari and was immediately engaged by Teatro dell'Opera in Rome as a soloist tenor for Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Berlioz’s Te Deum. On the same stage, he sang the role of Rodolfo in a successful production of La Bohème.
Following these performances, Secco was soon cast to sing many important roles on the major stages worlwide, including Rigoletto (Duca of Mantova) at Teatro Regio in Turin, Wiener Staatsoper, Theatre of Toulouse, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Venezia, Baltimore, Coruna, Arena of Avenches, Stockholm and Opéra Bastille in Paris; La Bohéme (Rodolfo) at Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Opéra Bastille in Paris, at the Puccini Festival in Torre Del Lago and together with Angela Gheorghiu in a Gala in Wiesbaden; La Traviata (Alfredo) in Venice, Tokyo, Barcelona, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Florence and under the baton of M° Muti at La Scala in Milan; Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, at the Puccini Festival in Torre Del Lago and at Teatro Comunale in Florence; Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) at Deutsche Oper Berlin and in Liège; Roberto Devereux in Oviedo and at Wiener Staatsoper; Arturo in I Puritani at Teatro Bellini in Catania under the baton of M° Kuhn and recorded by BMG; Gualtiero in Il Pirata in Amsterdam conducted by M° Carella, Nemorino ne L’Elisir d’Amore at Teatre Liceu in Barcelona and at Royal Opera House in London; the important role of De Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at Grand Theatre of Geneve and at Liceu in Barcelona; Simon Boccanegra (Gabriele Adorno) at Opéra Bastille in Paris, at La Scala and in Cagliari.
He then sang Rossini’s Stabat Mater at Teatro dell'Opera in Rome conducted by M° Ranzani and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette at the new Auditorium Parco della Musica in a live radio broadcast under M° Chung; La Bohème at Teatro Regio in Parma, Rigoletto and the role of Don Carlo at Opéra Bastille in a new and successful production directed by Graham Vick, La Traviata in Tokyo, the acclaimed debut in Luisa Miller at the Staatoper in Munich, Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro Comunale in Florence, a new production of Macbeth at Opéra Bastille in Paris, Werther at Oper Frankfurt.
His future plans include: Trovatore at Opera di Roma and Lucia di Lammermoor at National Centre of performing Arts in Beijing.
Stefano’s voice has been chosen to be inserted into a sequence of the film “The perfect host” by Nick Tomnay, singing “Quando le sere al placido” from Luisa Miller. -
Sir Edgardo of Ravenswood (Tenor): SHI Yijie (Apr. 10, Apr. 12)After having been the revelation of the Rossini Opera Festival 2008, singing as Cavalier Belfiore in Ilviaggio a Reims in the 'Accademia Rossiniana' production, Shi Yijie was immediately invited back to Pesaro to sing the title role in Le Comte Ory at the Rossini Opera Festival 2009, where he has had a warm success imposing himself on the international scene.
Despite his relative youth, ShI Yijie has already acchieved success singing at internationally renowned venues such as Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia di Roma, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino di Firenze, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Deutsche Oper of Berlin, Opéra de Nancy, Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra de Lausanne, Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, TeatroComunale di Bologna, Festival Mozart de la Coruna, Teatro Arriaga de Bilbaoand De Vlaamse Opera of Antwerp, working with such conductors as Roberto Abbado, Kent Nagano and Alberto Zedda.He opened the 2013/14 season performing L'elisir d'Amore (Nemorino) at the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, followed by his return to Bejing NCPA in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and his role debut as Fernand in La Favoriteat the Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse and Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle in La Coruna.
His future plans include I Pagliacci, Don Pasquale, Der Rosenkavalier, L'italiana in Algeri andGuillaume Tell at Bejing NCPA, Falstaff (Fenton) and I Puritani (Arturo) at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, L'occasione fa illadro (Conte Alberto) at Théatre des Champs Elysées de Paris,Tancredi (Argirio) and Il turco in Italia (Narciso) at Opéra de Lausanne, Il turco in Italia (Narciso) and Tancredi at Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Rossini's Armida (Rinaldo), Mozart'sIdomeneo (Arbace) and Die Zauberfloete (Tamino) in Antwerp, as well as Il turco in Italia (Narciso) at Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse. -
Lord Enrico Ashton (Baritone): Marco Caria (Apr. 9, Apr. 11)Marco Caria is one of Italy’s most exciting young baritones to have emerged in recent years. He graduated from the Conservatorio in Sassari where he earned a scholarship to further his vocal studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Thereafter, he has won several international competitions, among others the “Tito Gobbi” Competition in 2004 (special award of the jury) and the “Luciano Neroni Competition” in 2005. Since 2005 Mr. Caria has pursued advanced vocal studies with the famed Italian soprano Mirella Freni at the Centro Universale del Belcanto in Vignola, Italy the following year.
In November 2005, Mr. Caria received the special award at Padova’s 20th International Vocal Competition “Iris Adami Corradetti”. Subsequently, he won the prestigious “Nicolai Ghiaurov” scholarship prize.
As he embarked on his professional career, in June 2007 Mr. Caria won two prizes at Placido Domingo's international competition "Operalia" in Paris. As the jury awarded him third prize, the public awarded him top prize in the competition. Most recently, in January 2008, he won the 'Emmerich Smola Award', presented by the German city of Landau.
During the 2007-08 season Mr. Caria made his North American debut as Don Carlo in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino in Cincinnati in May 2008 conducted by Maestro James Conlon. The 2008-09 season saw Mr. Caria’s debut at the Fenice in Venice in I Pagliacci, the 2009-10 season took Mr. Caria as Barbiere di Siviglia to the Washington National Opera.
Marco Caria works usually which such conductors as Roberto Abbado, Yves Abel, Marco Armiliato, Bruno Campanella, Myung-whun Chung , Ottavio Dantone, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Oren, Stefano Ranzani, just to name a few. -
Lord Enrico Ashton (Baritone): ZHANG Yang (Apr. 10, Apr. 12)NCPA Resident ArtistZHANG Yang is a young baritone and actor of China NCPA Chorus. He played the role of “FANG Dafu” in NCPA Commission & Chinese Epic Opera The Long March. He also served as soloist and leading singer in various concerts of China NCPA Chorus. In 2014, upon completion of university study under the tutelage of tenor Professor ZHANG Xiaonong, he graduated from School of Art, Guangxi University. He was admitted to China NCPA Chorus in 2014. In 2013, he got course-completion certificate issued by Master Class of Giuseppe Sabbatini.In addition, he has performed in nearly 20 Chinese and western classic and original operas, such as Aida, Tannhäuser, The Long March and Visitorson the Snow Mountain. He is also a member of China NCPA Chorus touring Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other places. -
Raimondo Bidebent (Bass): Sergey Artamonov (Apr. 9, Apr. 11)Since 2003, the Russian bass Sergey Artamonov has been soloist of the Moscow Novaya Opera where he has had the chance to perform some leading parts of the repertoire: title role in Borodin's Prince Igor, Ruslan in Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila, Gremin in Tchaikovsky's Evgeny Onegin, Rene in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, Varlaam in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Monterone in Verdi's Rigoletto, King Herald in Lohengrin, Don Basilio in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Zaccaria in Verdi's Nabucco and others.
In 2008 he took part in the Kazan City Opera European tour. In his wade repertoire, it included the title role and Prince Galitskiy in Borodin's Prince Igor, Ruslan in Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila; Prince Gremin in Tchaikovskiy’s Eugene Onegin, Rene in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, The Archbishop in Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orléans, Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Maid of Pskov, Moroz in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden, Malyuta in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride, Varlaam in Musorgskiy’s Boris Gudonov, Prince Gudal in Rubenstein’s Demon; King's Herald in Wagner's Lohengrin, Don Basilio in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco, Bass in Verdi’s Requiem, Oroveso in Bellini’s Norma.
He sang Don Giovanni and Aida at Teatro Municipal in Santiago del Chile, La Boheme at La Fenice in Venice, Norma and Verdi Requiem at Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Carmen at Moscow Bolshoi Theatre, Nabucco and Aida again at the Arena in Verona during the Centenary Festival and he performed Nabucco also in Bologna, Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Simon Boccanegra at Palau de les Arts in Valencia and Nabucco in China, I Puritani in Chile, Aida in Verona, Macbeth in China, Roméo et Juliette and Lucia di Lammermoor in Paris and Lima.
Among his recent and future engagements include Simon Boccanegra in Beijing, Rigoletto in Toulouse, Sonnambula in Verona, Gioconda in Chile, Aida and Trovatore at the Arena in Verona, Tosca in Paris, and Lucia di Lammermoor in Beijing. -
Raimondo Bidebent (Bass): TIAN Haojiang (Apr. 10, Apr. 12)TIAN Haojiang has performed in NCPA productions of Rusalka, Turandot, Chinese Orphan, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Aida (concet version), Eugene Onegin, Rickshaw Boy, Norma and Aida.
Since his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991, TIAN Haojiang, a native of Beijing, has sung over 1300 performances of 40 operatic roles worldwide. He has been on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera for 19 years in 300 performances of 26 operas. Tian has also been highly praised for his appearances in many international theatres such as the Berlin State Opera, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Arena di Verona, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Canadian Opera Company, and other major opera houses in the three continents.
Among highlights of his recent and current engagements, he performed as Timur at the Metropolitan Opera, King Philip in Don Carlo at Liege in Belgium, Le Cid in Valencia in Spain with Plácido Domingo, Ramphis in Aida in San Francisco, world premiere of Tian's one-man show Sing Brother Sing in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, title role of Poet Li Bai in Los Angeles, title role of The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci in Hong Kong, Verdi's Masnadieri with the Washington Concert Opera, and a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York.
His autobiography, Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met, was released in 2008 worldwide by Wiley and Sons as a Lincoln Center Book.
