Riccardo Minasi is Principal Guest Conductor of Ensemble Resonanz, which is based at the Elbphilharmonie, as well as Artistic Director of the orchestra La Scintilla at the Opernhaus Zürich, positions he has held since 2022. Previously, from 2011 to 2016, he was co-founder and conductor of Il Pomo d’Oro, from 2017 to 2022 Chief Conductor of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and from 2022 to 2025 Music Director of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. As a conductor, he has led numerous renowned orchestras worldwide, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Münchner Philharmoniker and the SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart. Engagements as musical director of various opera productions have taken him, among others, to the Salzburger Festspiele, the Opernhaus Zürich, the Staatsoper Hamburg and the Dutch National Opera. In addition, he served as musicological advisor to the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and, together with Maurizio Biondi, published the critical edition of Vincenzo Bellini’s "Norma" with Bärenreiter. As a soloist, Riccardo Minasi has performed with some of the most important ensembles of the early music scene, including Il Giardino Armonico and Le Concert des Nations. Minasi’s extensive discography includes recordings with artists such as Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez and Philippe Jaroussky. Four of his albums have won the prestigious ECHO Klassik Award. His recordings include Joseph Haydn’s "The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross" and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Cello Concertos with Jean-Guihen Queyras under the label Harmonia Mundi.
Opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dramma giocoso in two acts
Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
From 28. January 2024 until 10. February 2024
-
Duration :
approx. 3 H. 30 Min. Inkl. Pause after approx. 1 H. 35 Min. -
Language:
In Italian with German and English surtitles. -
More information:
Introduction 45 min before the performance.
Riccardo Minasi
Kirill Serebrennikov
Kirill Serebrennikov is a theatre, opera, film and television director. The trained physicist has been directing since 1994. "Salome" at the Stuttgart Opera in 2015 as well as "Il barbiere di Siviglia" at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2016 were his first works outside Russia. From 2012 to 2021 he was artistic director of the Gogol Center, which was closed in 2022 by the Russian government. His awards include the East of West Award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival (2005) as well as the Russian theatre prize Golden Mask (2012). His film "Izmena" (Infidelity) was awarded the Grand Prix of the Rome Film Festival in 2012 and nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; the feature film "Petrov’s Flu" was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. His theatre productions were invited to the Vienna Festival, the Schaubühne Berlin, the Deutsches Theater Berlin and the Avignon Festival. His highly acclaimed opera productions include "Nabucco" at the Hamburg State Opera, "Il barbiere di Siviglia" at Theater Basel, "Parsifal" at the Vienna State Opera and "Die Nase" at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, "Der Freischütz" at the Opera Amsterdam and "Lohengrin" at the Paris Opera. He also gaines widespread recognition for the ballet "Nureyev", co-directed with Yuri Possokhov, which premiered in Moscow in 2017 and was also later performed by the Berlin State Ballet. At the Komische Oper Berlin, Serebrennikov staged a Mozart-Da Ponte cycle, at the Vienna State Opera "Don Carlo" and at the Opera Amsterdam "Boris Godunov". At the Zurich Opera House, he most recently staged "Leben mit einem Idioten".
Evgeny Kulagin
Evgeny Kulagin studied at the Academy of Arts and Culture in his hometown Chelyabinsk. In 2002, he founded the contemporary dance company "Dialogue Dance" in Kostroma together with Ivan Estegneyev, which soon after its founding developed into an important centre for contemporary Russian dance. The company’s productions were awarded the renowned "Golden Mask" three times. Kulagin and his company worked with the most important companies and choreographers of Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria. Evgeny Kulagin is also active in spoken theatre and film as a choreographer and director. From 2014 he was engaged as director and choreographer at the Moscow Gogol Center under the direction of Kirill Serebrennikov. There he directed and choreographed "Shakespeare" (2017), "Two Rooms" (2018) and "Barocco" (2019). With Kirill Serebrennikov he has created numerous productions in both spoken theatre and opera. In 2018 they jointly made the film "Leto" (Summer), which was shown at the Cannes and Zurich film festivals. Kulagin brought Serebrennikov’s productions to Zurich ("Così fan tutte"), to the Bavarian State Opera ("Die Nase") and to the Vienna State Opera ("Parsifal"), while Serebrennikov was under house arrest in Moscow. Most recently, he worked with Serebrennikov on "Der Freischütz" and "Boris Godunov" (National Opera in Amsterdam), "Le nozze di Figaro" and "Don Giovanni/Requiem" (Komische Oper Berlin) as well as "Don Carlo" (Vienna State Opera). At the Hamburg Thalia Theatre he staged the evening "Apocalypse Tomorrow".
Nikolay Simonov
Nikolay Simonov wurde in Rostow am Don (Russland) geboren und studierte an der dortigen Kunsthochschule. Nach seinem Abschluss schuf er die Bühnenbilder für über hundert Opern- und Schauspielproduktionen. Dabei arbeitete er u.a. mit Regisseuren wie Kirill Serebrennikov, Yuri Butusov, Michail Bychkov, Sergei Golomazov, Marina Brusnikina und Igor Golyak. Seine Arbeit führte ihn in verschiedene Städte in Russland, Estland, Lettland und den USA. Er ist Preisträger des Jugendpreises «Triumph», der «Möwe», des «Crystal Turandot», des Oleg Tabakov Charitable Fund, der Boston Theatre Critics Association «Elliott Norton» für herausragende Bühnenbilder im Theater. Er ist zudem im Ausstellungsdesign tätig und konzipierte die Räume für Ausstellungen am Kunstmuseum Woronesch und erarbeitete das Konzept für die Rekonstruktion des Venivitinov-Museums in Woronesch. Zuletzt war er Ausstattungsleiter im Moskauer Tschechow-Theater.
Tatiana Dolmatovskaya
Tatiana Dolmatovskaya studied literature in Moscow and costume design at the Wimbledon College of Art. She was initially editor-in-chief of the Russian "Vogue". Since 2007 she has designed costumes for film and theatre. As a costume assistant she worked with film directors Kenneth Branagh ("Jack Ryan", "Shadow Recruit") and Joe Wright ("Anna Karenina") and was also engaged as assistant on the series "The Americans". She designed costumes for numerous Russian film productions. In theatre she designed costumes at the Moscow Art Theatre and at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. With Kirill Serebrennikov she has worked on his films "Leto", "The Student", "Petrov’s Flu", "Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele" and "Après" and was responsible for costume work for his productions including "Così fan tutte" and "Leben mit einem Idioten" at the Zurich Opera House, "Nabucco" at the Hamburg State Opera, "Die Nase" at the Bavarian State Opera, "Parsifal" at the Vienna State Opera, "Lohengrin" at the Opéra national de Paris, "Le nozze di Figaro" as well as "Don Giovanni/Requiem" at the Komische Oper Berlin and "Boris Godunov" at the National Opera in Amsterdam.
Franck Evin
Franck Evin, born in Nantes, moved to Paris at the age of 19 to study piano. At night he accompanied singers at the Café-Théâtre Le Connétable and also began to take an interest in lighting. He eventually decided to combine music and technology. Thanks to a scholarship from the French Ministry of Culture, he became assistant to the head of lighting at the Opéra de Lyon in 1983. There he worked with Ken Russell and Robert Wilson, among others. In 1986 he began working as an independent lighting designer at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus and obtained his master’s certificate in lighting in 1993. During this time he had a close collaboration with Werner Schröter and the conductor Eberhard Kloke. This was followed by productions in Nantes, Strasbourg, Paris, Lyon, Vienna, Bonn, Brussels and Los Angeles, among other places. From 1995 to 2012 he was Artistic Director of the lighting department at the Komische Oper Berlin, where he was responsible for all new productions. Important artistic partners during this period included Andreas Homoki, Barrie Kosky, Calixto Bieito and Hans Neuenfels. In 2006 Franck Evin was awarded the German Theatre Prize "Opus" in the category of lighting design. From 2012 to 2025 he was Artistic Director of the lighting department at the Zurich Opera House. In addition to his work in Zurich, he continued to work on international productions at opera houses in Oslo, Stockholm, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Munich and Graz, as well as at the Opéra Bastille, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro La Fenice, the Vlaamse Opera and at the Bayreuth Festival.
Ilya Shagalov
Ilya Shagalov was born in Krasnodar, Russia, and initially studied acting at the State University of Arts and Culture in his hometown. He then studied theatre directing under Kirill Serebrennikov at the Theatre School of the Moscow Chekhov Art Theatre. In addition to his work as a director he works as a video artist, set designer and composer. He has directed various theatre projects in Russia and abroad, including "Dreams of the Minotaur" at the Theatre of Nations Moscow, "Near Zero" by Natan Dubovitsky at the Schaubühne Berlin, "My Moscow" at the Moscow Gogol Center, Evgeny Zamyatin’s "We" at the theatre in Rouen, France, "Venus in Furs" by Sacher-Masoch at the Russian Theatre in Tallinn as well as projects at the Théâtre des Deux Rives in Normandy and at the Vene Teater in Estonia. From 2013 he was a permanent member of the Gogol Center. Since his studies he has maintained a close collaboration with Kirill Serebrennikov. He produced videos for a large number of his productions, including "Woyzeck" at the National Theatre Latvia, "Salome" and "Hänsel and Gretel" at the Stuttgart Opera, "Il barbiere di Siviglia", "Le nozze di Figaro" and "Don Giovanni/Requiem" at the Komische Oper Berlin, "Nabucco" at the Hamburg State Opera as well as "Parsifal" and "Don Carlo" at the Vienna State Opera and "Legende" at the Ruhrtriennale.
Beate Breidenbach
Beate Breidenbach studierte zuerst Violine, dann Musikwissenschaft und Slawistik in Nowosibirsk, Berlin und St. Petersburg. Nach Assistenzen an der Staatsoper Stuttgart und der Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin wurde sie als Musikdramaturgin ans Theater St. Gallen engagiert, drei Jahre später wechselte sie als Dramaturgin für Oper und Tanz ans Theater Basel. Anschliessend ging sie als Operndramaturgin ans Opernhaus Zürich, wo sie bisher mit Regisseurinnen und Regisseuren wie Calixto Bieito, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Andreas Homoki, Herbert Fritsch, Nadja Loschky, Kirill Serebrennikov und anderen arbeitete und die Entstehung neuer Opern von Pierangelo Valtinoni, Michael Pelzel, Samuel Penderbayne und Jonathan Dove betreute. Gastdramaturgien führten sie u.a. an die Potsdamer Winteroper (Le nozze di Figaro, Regie: Andreas Dresen), zum Schweizer Fernsehen (La bohème im Hochhaus) und 2021 an die Opéra de Génève (Krieg und Frieden, Regie: Calixto Bieito). Mit Beginn der Spielzeit 2026/27 wird sie als Chefdramaturgin an die Deutsche Oper Berlin wechseln.
Cast
Vannina Santoni
Vannina Santoni begann ihre Karriere mit der Rolle der Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) in Italien und anschliessend an der Königlichen Oper in Versailles. Nach ihrem Studium am Conservatoire National in Paris sang sie die Titelrolle in La traviata am Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Ihre Karriere führte sie bisher an Opernhäuser wie die Opéra National de Paris, die Opéra de Nancy und die Oper Köln und zu Dirigent:innen wie Simone Young, Mark Elder, Bertrand de Billy, Marc Minkowski, Henrik Nánási, Jérémie Rhorer und Lorenzo Viotti. Sie sang Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann an der Opéra de Lausanne, Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro am Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette an der Scala in Mailand und Adina in L’elisir d’amore am Théâtre de Capitole in Toulouse. Im Konzertfach gehören die Sopranpartien in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, in Verdis Requiem, in Mozarts Messe in C-Dur und in Schuberts Messe Nr. 2 in G-Dur zu ihrem Repertoire. Jüngst gab sie in Montpellier ihr Debüt als Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Tauride) und sang die Titelrolle in Massenets Grisélidis am Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Zudem eröffnete sie das Rheingau Musik Festival mit Poulencs Stabat Mater unter der Leitung von Alain Altinoglu. In der laufenden Spielzeit singt sie u.a. die Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) am Opernhaus Zürich und an der Opéra de Paris.
Samantha Hankey
Samantha Hankey stammt aus den USA und studierte an der Juilliard School in New York. Während ihrer Studienzeit wurde sie mit zahlreichen Preisen ausgezeichnet; u.a. war sie Grand Finals Winner des Metropolitan Opera National Council, erhielt den 1. Preis beim Dallas Opera Guild Gesangswettbewerb, den 1. Preis beim Inaugural Glyndebourne Cup, den 2. Preis beim Operalia Wettbewerb und den «Birgit Nilsson Preis». Nach ihrem Studium gab sie ihr Debüt an der Norske Opera in Oslo als Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia. In der Spielzeit 2018/19 war sie als Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) am Opernhaus Zürich und u. a. als Wellgunde (Das Rheingold) an der Metropolitan Opera New York zu erleben. Von 2019 bis 2021 war sie Ensemblemitglied der Bayerischen Staatsoper und sang dort Partien wie Hänsel, Wellgunde, 2. Dame, Carmen in Marina Abramovics 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, Cherubino und Octavian (Rosenkavalier). Auf der Konzertbühne sang sie u.a. die Titelrolle in Händels Agrippina mit Il Pomo d’Oro in Turku, war Solistin in Lili Boulangers Faust et Hélène beim Bard Festival, in Händels Messiah in der Carnegie Hall und gab Liederabende in der Wigmore Hall London, in der Alice Tully Hall im Lincoln Center New York und im Metropolitan Museum in New York. Kürzliche Engagements führten sie als Ruggiero (Alcina) zum Glyndebourne Festival, als Federico García Lorca in Golijovs Ainadamar ans Theatre Royal Glasgow, als Hänsel an die Lyric Opera Chicago, als Dorabella (Così fan tutte) an die Palm Beach Opera sowie als Octavian an die Met in New York.
Xiaomeng Zhang
Chinese baritone Xiaomeng Zhang studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard School. As a former member of the Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, he regularly appears at the house, where he has performed as Ping ("Turandot"), Guglielmo ("Così fan tutte"), Silvio ("Pagliacci"), and Donner ("Das Rheingold"). His repertoire also includes the title role in "Don Giovanni" and the roles Figaro ("The Barber of Seville"), Belcore ("L’Elisir d’amore"), Schaunard ("La bohème"), and Figaro ("The Marriage of Figaro"). At the Opéra national de Paris, he appeared as Zhou Enlai ("Nixon in China") and as Schaunard ("La bohème"). In the 2025/26 season, he will make his debut at the Royal Opera House in London as Ping and sing Dr. Falke ("Die Fledermaus") at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
Mauro Peter
Tenor Mauro Peter was born in Lucerne and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. In 2012, he won first prize and the audience prize at the International Robert Schumann Competition. Since then, he has performed at leading concert halls and opera houses worldwide, including Wigmore Hall in London, Philharmonie de Paris, Carnegie Hall, Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, Hamburger Laeiszhalle, Musikverein Vienna, Wiener Konzerthaus, Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival, Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Zurich Opera House, Pierre-Boulez-Saal, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Salzburg Festival, Semperoper Dresden, Musikfest Dresden, Bregenzer Festspiele, and Opéra National de Paris. His repertoire includes roles such as Andres ("Wozzeck"), Ferrando ("Così fan tutte"), Tamino ("The Magic Flute"), Loge ("Rheingold"), Naraboth ("Salome"), Nemorino ("L’elisir d’amore"), Eisenstein ("Die Fledermaus"), Prince ("The Love for Three Oranges"), and Max ("Der Freischütz"). As an internationally sought-after concert soloist, he has performed under the musical direction of renowned conductors including Ivor Bolton, Teodor Currentzis, Gustavo Dudamel, Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Marie Jacquot, Vladimir Jurowski, Fabio Luisi, Joana Mallwitz, Antonello Manacorda, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Minasi, Andris Nelsons, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Trevor Pinnock, Simone Young, and Christian Thielemann.
Valentina Farcas
Valentina Farcas stammt aus Rumänien und studierte zunächst Klavier an der Musikakademie von Bukarest. Anschliessend nahm sie ihr Gesangstudium auf, welches sie mit Auszeichnung an der Folkwang Hochschule Essen abschloss. Sie ist Preisträgerin verschiedener internationaler Gesangswettbewerbe und gab 2006 als Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail ihr Debüt bei den Salzburger Festspielen. Die Produktion ist bei DECCA auf DVD erschienen. Sie war Ensemblemitglied der Komischen Oper Berlin und sang dort u.a. Gilda unter Kiril Petrenko, Die Königin von Schemacha in Der goldne Hahn von Rimski-Kosakow, Pamina, Blonde, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier und Hermione in Händels Oreste unter Thomas Hengelbrock. Diese Händel-Produktion wurde von der Zeitschrift Opernwelt zur «Produktion des Jahres» 2006 gewählt und kurz darauf bei ARTE ausgestrahlt. Gastengagements führten sie ans Opernhaus Zürich, Theater an der Wien, an die Opernhäuser in Neapel, Parma, Florenz, Turin, Lausanne und Amsterdam, zu den Festivals in Ravenna, Savonlinna und Spoleto, ans Théâtre des Champs-Elysées sowie an die Semperoper Dresden. Neben ihren Opernengagements ist Valentina Farcas regelmässig im Konzertbereich tätig. So sang sie in Mahlers 8. Sinfonie unter Riccardo Chailly, in Carmina Burana, in Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem unter Paavo Järvi und in Mendelssohns Paulus sowie in Mahlers 2. Sinfonie und jüngst in dessen 8. Sinfonie unter Fabio Luisi.
Edwin Crossley-Mercer
Edwin Crossley-Mercer studierte zunächst Klarinette und Kirchenmusik in Versailles und anschliessend Gesang in Berlin an der Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. 2006 gab er sein Debüt als Don Giovanni in Berlin. 2009 war er am Festival in Aix-en-Provence als Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) zu hören und 2010 an der Opéra Bastille als Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos. Darauf sang er in La Juive in Amsterdam, Dandini (La Cenerentola) an der Opéra National du Rhin und Pollux (Castor et Pollux) am Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. In Berlin war er u.a. in La bohème (Schaunard), Der Freischütz und Doktor Faustus unter Daniel Barenboim zu erleben. Sein US-Debüt gab er 2012 als Figaro mit dem LA Philharmonic unter Gustavo Dudamel. Er trat ausserdem als Jupiter (Platée) im Lincoln Centre, im Theater an der Wien und an der Opéra Comique sowie 2014 als Leporello (Don Giovanni) beim Glyndebourne Festival auf. In Baden-Baden sang er Schaunard und war u.a. als Guglielmo an der Opéra de Paris, als Alcide (Lullys Alceste) an der Opéra Royal de Versailles und als Rodomonte in Orlando paladino an der Bayerischen Staatsoper zu hören. Auf der Konzertbühne sang er u.a. in der Carnegie Hall, beim Festival de Colmar und mit dem Orchestre National de France am Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Berlioz’ L’Enfance du Christ). 2007 erhielt er den HSBC Foundation Award und den Lili and Nadia Boulanger Voice Prize und wurde zweimal für den Grammy Award nominiert. Am Opernhaus Zürich war er in der Spielzeit 2018/19 als Thésée in Hippolyte et Aricie zu erleben.
Francesco Guglielmino
Francesco Guglielmino completed his training in dance and acting in the USA. During his career he has appeared in musicals as well as various television productions and taken supporting roles in several films. Most recently he was seen in the film "Il Regalo". At the Zurich Opera House he has so far been involved in "Così fan tutte", "Il trovatore", "Dialogues des Carmélites", "Roberto Devereux" and "Giulio Cesare in Egitto".
Evgeny Kulagin
Evgeny Kulagin studied at the Academy of Arts and Culture in his hometown Chelyabinsk. In 2002, he founded the contemporary dance company "Dialogue Dance" in Kostroma together with Ivan Estegneyev, which soon after its founding developed into an important centre for contemporary Russian dance. The company’s productions were awarded the renowned "Golden Mask" three times. Kulagin and his company worked with the most important companies and choreographers of Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria. Evgeny Kulagin is also active in spoken theatre and film as a choreographer and director. From 2014 he was engaged as director and choreographer at the Moscow Gogol Center under the direction of Kirill Serebrennikov. There he directed and choreographed "Shakespeare" (2017), "Two Rooms" (2018) and "Barocco" (2019). With Kirill Serebrennikov he has created numerous productions in both spoken theatre and opera. In 2018 they jointly made the film "Leto" (Summer), which was shown at the Cannes and Zurich film festivals. Kulagin brought Serebrennikov’s productions to Zurich ("Così fan tutte"), to the Bavarian State Opera ("Die Nase") and to the Vienna State Opera ("Parsifal"), while Serebrennikov was under house arrest in Moscow. Most recently, he worked with Serebrennikov on "Der Freischütz" and "Boris Godunov" (National Opera in Amsterdam), "Le nozze di Figaro" and "Don Giovanni/Requiem" (Komische Oper Berlin) as well as "Don Carlo" (Vienna State Opera). At the Hamburg Thalia Theatre he staged the evening "Apocalypse Tomorrow".
Seiji Yokota
Seiji Yokota wurde 1991 in Tokio geboren und erhielt bereits im Alter von sieben Jahren ersten Violoncello-Unterricht. Ab 2010 studierte er an der Toho Gakuen Hochschule für Musik in Tokyo, ab 2014 bei Martina Schucan an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. Weitere musikalische Ausbildung erhielt er bei Hirohumi Kanno, Sumiko Kurata, Claudius Herrmann, Martin Zeller (Barockvioloncello) und an Meisterkursen, u.a. bei Miklos Perenyi. Seiji Yokota konzertierte als Solist wie auch als Kammermusiker in Japan und der Schweiz. Er ist Preisträger verschiedener Wettbewerbe in Japan sowie Mitglied des Seiji Ozawa Academy Orchesters (von 2009 bis 2011) und des Lucerne Festival Academy Orchesters. An zahlreichen Musik-Festspielen in Japan ist er bisher aufgetreten, u.a. am Saito-Kinen Music Festival, Kirishima International Music Festival, Beppu- Argerich Festival. Er erhielt einen 2. Preis beim Kiwanis Kammermusik Wettbewerb 2017. Von 2015 bis 2017 war er Akademist und seit Saison 2018/19 ist Seiji Yokota Mitglied der Philharmonia Zürich.