Ted Huffman was born in New York. He studied at Yale University and participated in the San Francisco Merola Opera Program. The opera "Denis & Katya", created together with Philip Venables (Opera Philadelphia, Dutch National Opera, Music Theatre Wales, Opéra Montpellier, Opera Hannover), won the Fedora Generali Prize in 2019 and the Ivor Novello Award in 2020. With Philip Venables he also developed the opera "4.48 Psychosis" after Sarah Kane, which premiered at the Royal Opera House in London, received the UK Theatre Award for Opera, and was nominated for the Olivier Awards, the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards and the South Bank Awards, as well as "The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions" (among others Factory International Manchester, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Bregenz Festival, Ruhrtriennale). In 2025 he directed the world premiere of Venables’s opera "We Are The Lucky Ones" at Dutch National Opera. Further directing work includes "The Time of Our Singing" at La Monnaie, "Rinaldo" in Frankfurt, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at Deutsche Oper Berlin, "Le premier meurtre" at the Opéra de Lille, "Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno" at the Royal Danish Theatre, Luke Styles’s "Macbeth" at Glyndebourne, Ana Sokolović’s "Svádba" in Aix, "Les mamelles de Tirésias" among others in Brussels, Amsterdam and at the Aldeburgh Festival, as well as Monteverdi’s "L’incoronazione di Poppea" in Aix and "Street Scene" at the Paris Opéra. The world premiere of Stefan Wirth’s "Das Mädchen mit dem Perlenohrring" at Zurich Opera House was named "Best World Premiere 2022" by Opernwelt. In addition, "Madama Butterfly" (2017) and "Roméo et Juliette" (2023) were produced in Zurich.
Giacomo Puccini
Tragedia giapponese in two acts
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
From 10. December 2017 until 10. January 2018
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Duration :
2 H. 45 Min. Inkl. Pause after approx. 50 Min. -
Language:
In Italian with German and English surtitles. -
More information:
Introduction 45 min before the performance.
Ted Huffman
Michael Levine
Michael Levine comes from Canada. He studied at the Central School of Art and Design in London and has been working internationally as a stage and costume designer for almost forty years. Among the directors with whom he regularly collaborates are Andreas Homoki, Robert Carsen, Deborah Warner, Simon McBurney and Tim Albery. He designed sets, among others, for "Die tote Stadt" at the Komische Oper Berlin, "Hell’s Fury, The Hollywood Songbook" at the Luminato Festival Toronto, "The Rake’s Progress" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, "Billy Budd" at the opera houses in Madrid and Rome, "Hänsel und Gretel" and "Turandot" at Dutch National Opera, "Madama Butterfly" at the Bregenz Festival, and "Parsifal" at the Opéra National de Lyon and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2022 he made his debut at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich with the stage design for Barrie Kosky’s "Das schlaue Füchslein" and returned there for "Semele" (2023) and "Die Liebe der Danae" (2025), both directed by Claus Guth. In 2023 he created the Schubert-inspired evening "Doppelgänger" for the Park Avenue Armory in New York, as well as "Chicago" at the Komische Oper Berlin and "Carmen" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. At Zurich Opera House he worked with Andreas Homoki on "Wozzeck" (2015), "Sweeney Todd" (2018), "Iphigénie en Tauride" (2020) and "Ariadne auf Naxos" (2024). He also designed the set for Ted Huffman’s "Madama Butterfly" (2017) and for Cathy Marston’s ballet "Atonement" (2024). Michael Levine’s work has received numerous awards. In 1981 he was appointed "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres".
Annemarie Woods
The Irish costume and set designer Annemarie Woods won the Ring Award in Graz in 2011 together with the British director Sam Brown. In joint productions with Sam Brown she designed, among others, "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" at the Teatro Sociale di Como, "Der Zigeunerbaron" at Stadttheater Klagenfurt, "Sigurd der Drachentöter" at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, "Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno" at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the world premiere of Gerald Barry’s opera "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy, and "La Cenerentola" at Lucerne Theatre. She also has a long-standing collaboration with director Oliver Mears, for whose productions of "Macbeth", "Salome", "L’elisir d’amore" and "Don Giovanni" she likewise designed the costumes and sets. Further works include "Candide" in Nancy, "Agrippina" in Limerick, "My Fair Lady" in Karlsruhe and "L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi" (directed by Bruno Ravella) at the Opéra National de Lorraine. With Ted Huffman she collaborated, among other projects, in Frankfurt on "Rinaldo", in Cologne on "Salome", in Montpellier on "Le Songe d’une nuit d’été", at Deutsche Oper Berlin on "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" and in Zurich on "Madama Butterfly". She also designed the costumes for "Pagliacci/Cavalleria rusticana" in Amsterdam (directed by Robert Carsen), for "La traviata" at the Komische Oper Berlin (directed by Nicola Raab) and for "Osud" at the Janáček Brno Festival (directed by Robert Carsen). At Zurich Opera House she designed the costumes for Adele Thomas’s production of "Il trovatore", Ted Huffman’s productions of "Madama Butterfly", "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "Roméo et Juliette", as well as for Evgeny Titov’s production of "L’Orfeo".
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 on a combination of 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, among others, with Ken Russell and Robert Wilson. In 1986 he began working as a freelance lighting designer at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus and passed the master lighting designer examination in 1993. Particularly close during this period was his collaboration with Werner Schröter and with the conductor Eberhard Kloke. This was followed by productions in, among other places, Nantes, Strasbourg, Paris, Lyon, Vienna, Bonn, Brussels and Los Angeles. From 1995 to 2012 he was artistic director of the lighting department at the Komische Oper Berlin and was responsible there for all new productions. During this time, Andreas Homoki, Barrie Kosky, Calixto Bieito and Hans Neuenfels became especially important collaborators for him. In 2006 Franck Evin was awarded the "OPUS" in the category of lighting design. From the 2012/13 season to 2024/25 he worked as artistic director of the lighting department at Zurich Opera House. In addition to his work in Zurich, he continued to be involved as a guest in international productions, for example at the opera houses in Oslo, Stockholm, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Munich and Graz, as well as at the Opéra Bastille, La Scala in Milan, Teatro La Fenice, Vlaamse Opera and the Bayreuth Festival.
Sonoko Kamimura
Sonoko Kamimura comes from Gifu, Japan. She began her classical dance training at the Reiko Matsuoka Ballet Studio in Nagoya. She then studied contemporary dance at Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam. After her career as a dancer with Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and as a guest dancer with the Forsythe Company, she became self-employed as a choreographic assistant for opera productions. She first collaborated with Ted Huffman in 2017 on "Madama Butterfly" at Zurich Opera House. In close collaboration with Ted Huffman, she subsequently worked on his productions of "Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno" at the Royal Danish Opera and at the Opéra National de Montpellier, "Les Mamelles de Tirésias" at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, "Die Vögel" at the Opéra National du Rhin and "Girl with a Pearl Earring", again in Zurich. As a choreographic assistant, she worked with Christopher Roman on "Mexico Aura" at the Neuköllner Oper Berlin in 2022, and in the same year she served as movement consultant for "Madama Butterfly" at the Royal Opera House in London.
Ernst Raffelsberger
Ernst Raffelsberger comes from Gmunden, Upper Austria. He studied music education and church music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, as well as choral conducting at the Mozarteum Salzburg. From 1983 to 1986, he was Kapellmeister of the Vienna Boys’ Choir. During this time, he conducted the ensemble in Vienna and on tours through Europe, South Africa, Canada, and the USA. From 1986, Ernst Raffelsberger was choral director and Kapellmeister at the Landestheater Salzburg (participating in the Salzburg Mozart Week and the Salzburg Festival). In 1989, he moved as choral director and Kapellmeister to the Theater in Freiburg/Breisgau. Since autumn 1993, Ernst Raffelsberger has been engaged as choral director at the Zurich Opera House. Here, he has overseen approximately 150 premieres and countless revivals and has collaborated with many renowned conductors such as Marco Armiliato, Riccardo Chailly, Teodor Currentzis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniele Gatti, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, and Franz Welser-Möst. Guest performances with the Zurich Opera House have taken him to Vienna, London, Paris, and Tokyo. From the summer of 2012, he also began a 10-year tenure as choral director of the Vienna State Opera Chorus for the Salzburg Festival. This led to successful collaborations with Riccardo Muti, Mariss Jansons, and Sir Simon Rattle, among others. After Ernst Raffelsberger concluded this work with the 2021 festival season, he has, since 2025, been responsible once again, at Maestro Muti’s request, for choral preparation for his festival concerts in Salzburg. Numerous CD and DVD recordings document his work in both Zurich and Salzburg.
Fabio Dietsche
Fabio Dietsche studied dramaturgy at the Zurich University of the Arts as well as cross flute with Maria Goldschmidt in Zurich and with Karl-Heinz Schütz in Vienna. He gained his first experience as a dramaturge in 2012/13 with Xavier Zuber at Konzert Theater Bern, where he accompanied, among others, Matthias Rebstock’s production of "neither" (Beckett/Feldman) at the Berner Reithalle. Since 2013, he has been a dramaturge at the Zurich Opera House, where he completed his studies with the production dramaturgy of Puccini’s "La bohème." There, he has been involved, among others, in the world premieres of Stefan Wirth’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and Leonard Evers’ "Odyssee," the chamber opera "Jakob Lenz" by Wolfgang Rihm, and the Swiss premiere of Manfred Trojahn’s "Orest." He has worked with, among others, Robert Carsen, Tatjana Gürbaca, Rainer Holzapfel, Andreas Homoki, Ted Huffman, Mélanie Huber, Barrie Kosky, Hans Neuenfels, and Kai Anne Schuhmacher. He is currently studying cultural management on a part-time basis at the University of Zurich.
Cast
Svetlana Aksenova
Svetlana Aksenova stammt aus St. Petersburg. Schon während ihres Studiums machte sie in der Titelpartie von Iolanta auf sich aufmerksam. Sie war Ensemblemitglied am Theater Basel, wo sie ihr Repertoire stetig erweitern konnte und in Partien wie Desdemona (Otello), Lisa (Pique Dame), Rusalka, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), Mimì (La bohème) und Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites) zu erleben war. Internationale Erfolge feierte sie u.a. mit der Titelrolle in Puccinis Suor Angelica in Dortmund, als Lisa (Pique Dame) an der Oper Amsterdam und am Mariinski-Theater, mit der Titelpartie in Rusalka an der Pariser Oper sowie als Fevroniya (Rimski-Korsakows Die Legende von der unsichtbaren Stadt Kitesch) in Amsterdam und Barcelona. Für die Titelpartie in Madama Butterfly, die sie u.a. an der Deutschen Oper Berlin, den Opern in Oslo, Stockholm, Rom und an der Bayerischen Staatsoper München gesungen hat, wurde sie 2010 von der «Opernwelt» zur Nachwuchssängerin des Jahres gewählt. Zu ihrem Repertoire zählen überdies Amelia (Un ballo in maschera), Marguerite (Faust) und die Titelpartie in Cileas Adriana Lecouvreur. Im Konzert war sie u.a. mit Vivaldis Gloria, Pergolesis Stabat Mater und Missa Pastoralis, Beethovens C-Dur-Messe, Berlioz’ Messe Solennelle, Bizets Te Deum und mit weiteren Werken von Rossini, Schostakowitsch, Dvořák und Mahler zu hören. 2015 debütierte sie am Grand Théâtre de Genève mit Verdis Requiem. 2017 sang sie Desdemona in Hamburg. Zukünftige Engagements führen sie als Tosca nach Stuttgart und Oslo und als Tatjana (Eugen Onegin) nach Vancouver.
Judith Schmid
Judith Schmid, Schweizer Mezzosopranistin, studierte Musik und Bewegung an der Hochschule der Künste Bern sowie Gesang an der Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Sie legt ihren Schwerpunkt auf die Opern- und Konzertbühne, widmet sich jedoch auch dem Lied und Oratorium. Seit über 20 Jahren ist sie u.a. am Opernhaus Zürich, wo sie langjähriges Ensemblemitglied war, oder auch am Staatstheater Nürnberg engagiert, etwa in Hosenrollen wie Smeton (Anna Bolena), Sesto (Giulio Cesare) und Silla (Palestrina) sowie als Adelaide (Arabella), Polina (Pique Dame), Federica (Luisa Miller), Maddalena (Rigoletto) Emilia (Otello), Erda (Rheingold, Siegfried), Waltraute (Walküre) sowie Erste Norn und Flosshilde (Götterdämmerung). Im Konzertbereich trat sie mit Orchestern wie dem Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, dem Münchner Rundfunkorchester, dem Opern- und dem Tonhalle Orchester Zürich unter Dirigenten wie Plácido Domingo, Mariss Jansons, Daniele Gatti, Franz Welser-Möst, Nello Santi, Marc Minkowski, Adam Fischer, Marcello Viotti oder Heinz Holliger auf. Seit 2017 ist sie Dozentin für Gesang an der Hochschule Luzern, ab September 2024 mit künstlerischer Professur. Neben zahlreichen Radio- und Fernsehaufzeichnungen sowie DVD-Produktionen hat Judith Schmid auch CDs veröffentlicht. Das Album Rosenblätter mit dem Pianisten Oliver Schnyder und Werken von Grieg, Hefti und Ravel wurde 2008 vom Schweizer Radio SRF 2 Kultur zu den besten CDs gewählt. Am Opernhaus Zürich ist sie in der Spielzeit 2024/25 als Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) und als Voix de la Tombe (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) zu erleben. Ein weiteres Engagement ist in der Spielzeit 2025/26 am Luzerner Theater geplant.
Saimir Pirgu
Saimir Pirgu was born in Albania and studied at the “Claudio Monteverdi” Conservatory in Bolzano with Vito Brunetti. Claudio Abbado brought the then 22-year-old to Ferrara as Ferrando (Così fan tutte) — in 2004, he made his Salzburg Festival debut with this role. He has worked with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Franz Welser-Möst, Fabio Luisi, and Daniele Gatti and has appeared in concerts at venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Auditorium Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the Musikverein Vienna. Today, he is engaged at the world’s most important opera houses. He sang the title role in Ernani at the Bregenz Festival, Don José in Carmen under the direction of Zubin Mehta in Bangkok, and the title roles in Les Contes d'Hoffmann at the Zurich Opera House, Werther at the Tokyo New National Theatre, as well as La damnation de Faust at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Additionally, he performed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in Zurich, Lensky in Eugene Onegin in Rome, the title role in Faust at the Sydney Opera House and the Zurich Opera House, Chevalier Des Grieux in Manon at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Shepherd in Król Roger at the Royal Opera House London, and Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2016, his solo album Il Mio Canto was released by Opus Arte. He presented the CD on a world tour that took him to Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Florence, and Tirana. His first aria album, Angelo casto e bel, was recorded in 2004 for Universal Music.
Brian Mulligan
Brian Mulligan, amerikanisch-irischer Bariton, steht regelmässig auf den grossen Opern- und Konzertbühnen in Amerika und Europa. Besonders aufgefallen ist er bisher als Richard Nixon (Nixon in China) an der San Francisco Opera, Enrico in David Aldens Produktion von Lucia di Lammermoor mit der Canadian Opera Company, der English National Opera und der Washington National Opera sowie Valentin (Faust) an der MET unter Yannick Nézet-Séguin und in San Francisco. Geboren in Endicot/New York, absolvierte Brian Mulligan sein Gesangsstudium an der Juilliard School in New York. Er gewann u.a. einen Richard Tucker Career Grant und den 1. Preis beim Internationalen Hans Gabor Belvedere Gesangswettbewerb. Sein Operndebüt gab er bereits als Student 2003 an der Metropolitan Opera in Die Frau ohne Schatten. Seitdem haben ihn Engagements u.a. nach Los Angeles (Prometheus in Walter Braunfels’ Die Vögel mit James Conlon), an die Metropolitan Opera in New York (Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia), an die New York City Opera, nach San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago sowie ans Aspen Music Festival geführt. Konzertant war er in Mahlers Achter Sinfonie mit dem Los Angeles Philharmonic unter Gustavo Dudamel zu hören. Zuletzt sang er u.a. Paolo Albiani (Simon Boccanegra) an der Met, Captain Balstrode (Peter Grimes) an der Wiener Staatsoper sowie Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande), Conte di Luna (Il trovatore) an der Oper Frankfurt sowie Gunther (Götterdämmerung) und Donner (Das Rheingold) an der San Francisco Opera. Am Opernhaus Zürich debütierte Brian Mulligan 2014 als Jeletzki (Pique Dame) und sang hier auch Valentin (Faust) und Sharpless (Madame Butterfly).
Martin Zysset
Martin Zysset was born and raised in Solothurn. He trained in clarinet and simultaneously pursued vocal studies, which he complemented with masterclasses with Ernst Haefliger and Edith Mathis. In 1990/91, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House and at the same time a scholarship holder of the Migros Cooperative Union as well as a prizewinner of the Pro Arte Lyrica Competition in Lausanne. Since 1992, he has been a regular guest at the Summer Games in Selzach. He has been a permanent member of the Zurich Opera House since the 1991/92 season. There, he has developed a wide repertoire ranging from buffo to dramatic roles, including Pedrillo, Monostatos, Spoletta, Incredibile ("Andrea Chénier"), Jaquino, Kudryash ("Káťa Kabanová"), Alfred ("Die Fledermaus"), Tamino, Tybalt, Dancaïro, Arturo, Gingerbread Witch, Brighella, and the male lead in "Weisse Rose" by Udo Zimmermann. He achieved great success as Simplicius in the operetta of the same name by Johann Strauss, which was also released on CD and DVD. Guest performances have taken him throughout Europe, to Shanghai, and with "Die Zauberflöte," "Le nozze di Figaro," "Fidelio," and "Tannhäuser" to San Diego. For Bavarian Radio, he recorded Lehár’s operetta "Paganini." At the Zurich Opera House, he has most recently performed roles including Don Basilio ("Le nozze di Figaro"), Tschekalinski ("Pique Dame"), Triquet ("Eugene Onegin"), the Chief Eunuch ("Das Land des Lächelns"), Goro ("Madama Butterfly"), Spoletta ("Tosca"), Dormont ("La scala di seta"), the White Minister ("Le Grand Macabre"), the Devil/Narrator ("The Soldier’s Tale"), Third Jew ("Salome"), Schmidt ("Werther"), and Feri ("Die Csárdásfürstin").
Huw Montague Rendall
Huw Montague Rendall kommt aus England und studierte bei Russell Smythe am Royal College of Music in London. Mit der British Youth Opera sang er u.a. Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Archibald Grosvenor (in Sullivans Patience), Aeneas (Dido und Aeneas) und Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus). An der Garsington Opera war er in Brittens Death in Venice zu erleben. 2016 sang er als «Jerwood Young Artist» den Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia) beim Glyndebourne Festival sowie bei den BBC Proms und wurde dafür mit dem John Christie Award 2016 ausgezeichnet. In der Spielzeit 2016/17 und 2017/18 war er Mitglied des Internationalen Opernstudios und am Opernhaus Zürich u.a. als Ramiro in L’Heure espagnole sowie in Don Carlo, Lady Macbeth von Mzensk und Lohengrin zu hören. Im Sommer 2017 war er zudem als 2. Handwerksbursche (Wozzeck) unter Vladimir Jurowski bei den Salzburger Festspielen zu erleben. Als Mitglied des IOS sang er in der Spielzeit 2017/18 u.a. Nardo in Mozarts La finta giardiniera, den zweiten Nazarener (Salome) und Yamadori in Madame Butterfly. Im Sommer 2018 debütierte er als Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos) beim Festival d’Aix-en-Provence und war mit dem RTE National Symphony Orchestra mit Duruflés Requiem zu hören. Weitere Engagements in der Spielzeit 2018/19 sind am Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, an der Komischen Oper Berlin und an der Garsington Opera geplant.
Ildo Song
Ildo Song stammt aus Südkorea. Er absolvierte seine Gesangsausbildung an der Universität von Seoul und ist Preisträger zahlreicher südkoreanischer Wettbewerbe. In Europa wurde er 2014 mit dem 3. Preis beim Internationalen Hans Gabor Belvedere Gesangswettbewerb in Düsseldorf ausgezeichnet. Zu seinem Repertoire gehören Partien wie Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), die Titelpartie in Le nozze di Figaro und Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), die er auf verschiedenen Bühnen in Seoul, darunter das Seoul Art Center, verkörperte. Von 2015 bis 2017 gehörte er zum Internationalen Opernstudio in Zürich und war hier u.a. in Il viaggio a Reims, La traviata, Orlando paladino, Don Carlo, Un ballo in maschera und L’Heure espagnole / L’Enfant et les sortilèges zu erleben. Seit der Spielzeit 2017/18 gehört er zum Ensemble des Opernhauses Zürich. In letzter Zeit sang er u.a. den Onkel Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Le Fauteuil / L’arbre in L’Enfant et les sortilèges, La Voce in Idomeneo, Mandarin in Turandot, Doktor Grenvil in La traviata, Julian Pinelli in Die Gezeichneten, Il Conte di Ceprano in Rigoletto, Alessio in der konzertanten Aufführung von La sonnambula, Oroveso in Norma und ein Eremit in Der Freischütz. Er gastierte zudem jüngst als Onkel Bonze und Oroveso am Teatro di San Carlo in Neapel.
Stanislav Vorobyov
Stanislav Vorobyov is from Russia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. He was a member of the International Opera Studio and has been an ensemble member at the Opernhaus Zürich since the 2018/19 season. There, he has performed roles including Colline ("La bohème"), Alidoro ("La Cenerentola"), High Priest ("Nabucco"), Notary ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Reinmar von Zweter ("Tannhäuser"), Faust ("Der feurige Engel"), Zaretsky ("Eugen Onegin"), Cesare Angelotti ("Tosca"), Fifth Jew and First Nazarene ("Salome"), Lord Rochefort ("Anna Bolena"), Dottor Grenvil ("La traviata"), Crébillon ("La rondine"), Zuniga ("Carmen"), Roberto ("I vespri siciliani"), Roucher ("Andrea Chénier"), Police Commissioner ("Der Rosenkavalier") and Marchese Calatrava ("La forza del destino"). He also sang Don Basilio ("Il barbiere di Siviglia") at the Bregenzer Festspiele, Nourabad ("Les Pêcheurs de perles") at the Opera Vlaanderen and in Luxembourg, as well as Ombra di Nino ("Semiramide") at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. At the Bregenzer Festspiele, he appeared as Uncle Bonzo in "Madama Butterfly" and as Il Capitano/L’ispettore in Giordano’s "Siberia". In 2024, he also performed as Colline ("La bohème") at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and the ROHM Theatre Kyoto.
Natalia Tanasii
Die moldawische Sopranistin Natalia Tanasii ist Gewinnerin des 2. Preises beim begehrten Wettbewerb «Neue Stimmen» und debütierte bereits auf wichtigen europäischen Bühnen wie den Salzburger Festspielen, dem Opernhaus Zürich, La Monnaie, der Hamburgischen Staatsoper und dem Teatro Real in Madrid. 2014 wurde sie Mitglied im Jungen Ensemble der Oper Oslo, wo sie Micaëla in Bieitos Carmen sang, und trat im Southbank Centre London in Brittens War Requiem unter Marin Alsop auf. 2015/16 nahm sie als Jerwood Young Artist am Glyndebourne Festival teil und war dort als Füchslein und Chocholka in Janáčeks Das schlaue Füchslein zu erleben. 2016/17 sang sie in Bieitos War Requiem an der Oper Oslo und am Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao und gab ihr Debüt als Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte). In ihrer Heimat tritt sie regelmässig in Konzerten und Rezitalen auf und wurde mit einem «National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Arts» ausgezeichnet. Von 2017 bis 2019 gehörte sie zum Internationalen Opernstudio in Zürich und sang hier u.a. Ein Sklave (Salome), Undis/Wilddrude (Ronja Räubertochter), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Arminda (La finta giardiniera), Sandmännchen (Hänsel und Gretel), Javotte (Manon) und die 5. Magd in Elektra. Sie gastierte ausserdem in Lissabon und sang dort Mimì in La bohème sowie im Sommer 2020 bei den Salzburger Festspielen die 5. Magd (Elektra) unter Franz Welser-Möst. Jüngst sang sie an der Staatsoper Hamburg sowie am Prager Nationaltheater die Mimì in La bohème.
Photos "Madama Butterfly"
