29. January 2017

Riccardo Minasi, Conductor
Franco Fagioli, Countertenor
Orchestra La Scintilla


GIOACHINO ROSSINI

Arias and Instrumental pieces by Gioachino Rossini,
Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi
out of:
«Elisabetta Regina d’Inghilterra»
«Demetrio e Polibio»
«Le siège de Corinthe»
«La donna del Lago»
«L’Assedio di Calais»
«Tancredi»
«Alzira»
«Semiramide»

  • More information:
    Introduction 45 min before the performance.

Musical Director:
Riccardo Minasi

Riccardo Minasi

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.

Bezuidenhout & Minasi15 Mar 2026

Cast


Countertenor Franco Fagioli

Franco Fagioli

Franco Fagioli, originally from Argentina, is considered one of the leading virtuoso countertenors of our time. His recent stage highlights include Nerone ("Agrippina") and Idamante ("Idomeneo") at the Royal Opera House in London and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the title role in Rossini’s "Sigismondo" in Kraków, Arsace ("Semiramide") in Nancy, Andronico ("Tamerlano") at La Scala in Milan, Ruggiero ("Alcina") at the Hamburg State Opera and in Lausanne, as well as the title roles in "Serse" in Karlsruhe and in "Giulio Cesare" at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and at Zurich Opera House. In the 2024/25 season, he also appeared on tour as Arsace in Rossini’s "Aureliano in Palmira", as Acis ("Polifemo") in Versailles, as Farnace ("Mitridate, re di Ponto") at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and once again as "Semiramide" at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. As an internationally sought-after concert singer, he has appeared at festivals in Halle, Ludwigsburg, Innsbruck, and Salzburg, among others. He collaborates regularly with conductors such as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alan Curtis, Gabriel Garrido, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, José Manuel Quintana, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, and Christophe Rousset. As an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon, he released, among others, the solo debut album "Rossini" with Armonia Atenea under George Petrou, as well as albums featuring arias by Handel and Leonardo Vinci with the ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro. In 2023, the recording "Anime Immortali" with the Basel Chamber Orchestra was released by Pentatone. His latest album, "The Last Castrato: Arias for Velluti", dedicated to the repertoire of the legendary castrato Giambattista Velluti, was released in 2025.

Recital Franco Fagioli9 Oct 2025
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Orchestra La Scintilla

Die Pflege der historischen Aufführungspraxis hat am Opern­haus Zürich seit dem Monteverdi-Zyklus in den 1970er Jahren Tradition. Bei der folgenden Reihe der Mozart-Opern mit dem Lei­tungs­­­team Harnoncourt/Ponnelle wurde weiter Pio­nierarbeit geleistet, und die Musikerinnen und Musiker passten ihre Spieltechnik den neue­sten Erkenntnissen der historischen Aufführungspraxis an. 1996 formierte sich aus dem Orchester der Oper ein eigenständiges Ensemble von erstklassigen spezialisierten MusikerInnen, das sich einen hervorragenden Ruf erwerben konnte. Der Funke der Begeisterung an neuer «Alter Musik» gab dem Ensemble seinen Namen: La Scintilla – der Funke. Aufführungen mit Koryphäen des Faches wie Nikolaus Har­non­court (u.a. Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Idomeneo), William Christie (u.a. Orphée et Euridice, Les Indes galantes, Orlando), Mark Minkowski (Les Boréades, Giulio Cesare), Reinhard Goebel und Giuliano Carmignola gerieten so erfolgreich, dass das Opernhaus Zürich alle barocken und fast alle aus der klassischen Zeit stammenden Opern von seiner Barockforma­tion La Scintilla spielen liess und lässt. Ausserdem konzertiert das Orchestra La Scintilla der Oper Zürich mit namhaften Solisten – Instrumentalisten wie Sängern – und tritt unter der Leitung von Ada Pesch regelmässig in den gros­­sen Konzertsälen Europas wie der Londoner Royal Festival Hall, dem Concertgebouw Am­sterdam, der Philharmonie Berlin und dem KKL Luzern auf. Äusserst erfolgreich begleitete das Orchester Cecilia Bartoli auf mehrwöchigen Konzertreisen in Nordamerika und Europa (u.a. in der Carnegie Hall).

La clemenza di Tito26 / 29 Apr / 3 / 8 / 15 / 17 / 20 / 25 May 2026 2nd La Scintilla Concert15 Dec 2025 Giulio Cesare in Egitto11 / 13 / 15 / 17 / 21 / 25 / 28 Mar 2026 3. Konzert La Scintilla18 May 2026 Bezuidenhout & Minasi15 Mar 2026 Aci, Galatea e Polifemo20 / 29 Mar 2026 Johannes-Passion24 Mar 2026

Abstract

The brilliant technique, the vocal range of three octaves and high vocal assertiveness makes the Argentine Franco Fagioli the most virtuosic countertenor of our time. His extensive, constantly growing repertoire testifies to an artist who is always looking for new challenges. At the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in 2014 he first appeared with Gioachino Rossini dedicated program and got sensational reviews: "What Fagioli worked out in diversity of expression in the arias of Rossini’s operas was fantastic," as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung said. Meanwhile, the singer has signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and will present his first solo album with arias by Rossini in the fall 2016. At the Zurich Opera House he will prove his Belcanto arts together with Riccardo Minasi and the Orchestra La Scintilla. The program includes arias from Rossini’s operas Demetrio e Polibio, La donna del Lago, Tancredi and Semiramide.

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