Tag: Carlo Rizzi

SOLD OUT – Donizetti’s L’esule di Roma

Opera Rara and Britten Sinfonia join forces once again to bring to light another neglected bel canto opera, Donizetti’s L’esule di Roma. Celebrating the 225th anniversary of Gaetano Donizetti’s birth, Opera Rara has restored an opera which is considered a milestone in the composer’s illustrious career. L’esule di Roma is filled with political conspiracy, romantic intrigue and great sacrifice set in Imperial Rome. Vocal fireworks fly in this opera from 1828 with remarkable ensembles, touching arias, and one of the composer’s finest bass-baritone roles.

Carlo Rizzi, Opera Rara’s Artistic Director, leads an all-star cast. Albina Shagimuratova, the Times’ “new queen of bel canto”, returns in the role of Argelia. Nicola Alaimo sings the role of Murena, Argelia’s father conflicted by a choice between the love for his daughter and his service to the Emperor. Sergey Romanovsky sings the role of Settimio, Argelia’s lover who has been condemned to death by her father. The cast is completed by Kezia Bienek in the role of Leontina, Argelia’s friend, and two recent graduates from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s opera programme, Lluís Calvet i Pey as the general Publio and André Henriques in the roles of Lucio and Fulvio.

Opera Rara’s mission is to restore neglected operatic masterworks, giving them new life through engaging recordings and concert performances. With over 50 years of operatic archeology, Opera Rara has reshaped how the works of Donizetti and many other composers have been viewed.

“Carlo Rizzi evidently knows every inch of the music, and conducted the excellent Britten Sinfonia with passion and a sense of committed ownership…” – The Daily Telegraph

“Musical archaeology is seldom as successful as this…” – Seen and Heard International

“Albina Shagimuratova: a new queen of bel canto” – The Times

*Please note start time

Mercadante’s Il proscritto

Opera Rara Artistic Director and internationally acknowledged 19th-century opera specialist Carlo Rizzi joins Britten Sinfonia and an exceptional cast in a revival of Mercadante’s Il proscritto.

This will be the first performance of one of Mercadante’s most daring and innovative scores since its Naples premiere in 1842. Restored from its original manuscript, Il proscritto weaves a tragic tale of lost love and political treachery during the rule of Oliver Cromwell.

In over 50 years of operatic archeology, Opera Rara’s mission has been to rediscover and restore neglected works of the highest quality, giving them new life through studio recordings and live performance. This concert will present Opera Rara’s 46th restoration project of a forgotten work from opera’s glorious past.

For Patron premium ticketing services, please contact Zachary Vanderburg at zachary@opera-rara.com or tickets may be purchased through the Barbican website here.

Zingari: The Complete Opera in One Act

PUCCINI arr. Rizzi Tosca Symphonic Suite
LEONCAVALLO Zingari

Carlo Rizzi Conductor
Krassimira Stoyanova Soprano
Arsen Soghomonyan Tenor
Stephen Gaertner Baritone
Łukasz Goliński Bass-baritone
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Opera Rara Chorus

On Friday 3 December 2021, Opera Rara presents the complete opera of Leoncavallo’s Zingari as it was first heard over 100 years ago at its London world première. Opera Rara’s Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi will conduct the restored original version of the opera whose creation has been spearheaded by the company. Presented in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall, Rizzi will be joined on stage by Łukasz Goliński making his Opera Rara debuts, Krassimira Stoyanova (Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan, ORC44), Stephen Gaertner (ORC55 Zazà) and Arsen Soghomonyan (Puccini’s Le Willis, ORC59). Premièred in September 1912 at London’s Hippodrome Theatre and conducted by the composer himself, Zingari was commissioned by the theatre which, the previous year, had invited Leoncavallo to present his first opera Pagliacci. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem The Gypsies of 1827, the one-act Zingari marked Leoncavallo’s return – both musically and in length – to the verismo style of Pagliacci written 20 years earlier and already part of the established repertory. Despite Zingari’s huge success – with long runs both in London and the United States – Leoncavallo cut down the original version of the work in subsequent revivals. Following extensive research of the opera’s sources, Opera Rara discovered the original vocal score which reveals many new aspects of the drama which have been forgotten over the last century, and from which long-time collaborator Martin Fitzpatrick (English National Opera’s Head of Music) has been commissioned to re-orchestrate missing passages.

Ticket information

Tickets: £45, £42, £35, £25, £15. All orders are subject to a transaction fee, except if made in person.

Book tickets from the Cadogan Hall website here.
Book tickets from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra website here.