The first Polish performance of Gioachino Rossini’s “Aureliano in Palmira” at the Opera Rara festival
Concert performance of Rossini’s “Aureliano in Palmira” is an event not to miss for the lovers of rarely performed operas and virtuoso singing. The production features Argentinian mezzo-soprano Franco Fagioli, alongside soloists: Krzysztof Lachman, Mercedes Arcuri, Joanna Sojka, Zbigniew Malak and Jakub Borgiel. The Capella Cracoviensis choir and orchestra (to perform on historical instruments) will be conducted by Jan Tomasz Adamus.
“Aureliano in Palmira” will be shown four times: twice at the Łaźnia Nowa Theater in Cracow on September 6 at 6 p.m. and on September 8 at 3 p.m., followed with performances in Prague (September 11) and Dresden (September 13).
Written for La Scala, Rossini’s “Aureliano in Palmira” was first staged in 1813 and initially met with a lukewarm reception from the Milanese audience. The plot is based on historical events: the conquest of the Middle East by the Roman Emperor Aureliano in the 3rd century and his war with Queen Zenobia. Military and heroic themes intertwine with the love triangle between Aureliano, Zenobia and Arsace, commander of the army defending the city of Palmira, the only role Rossini ever wrote for a castrato (Giovanni Battista Velluti).
The autumn edition of the Opera Rara Festival in Cracow was launched with a concert by Philippe Jaroussky at the Słowacki Theater on August 27. It runs through October 25, which is the World Opera Day. For the first time in its history, the festival will tour to Prague, Pilsen and Dresden.