Puccini festival will resume with Pappano

Puccini festival will resume with Pappano

main

norman lebrecht

May 24, 2020

The Italian press agency ANSA reports that the annual Puccini Opera Festival at Torre del Lago will go ahead on June 26-August 14.

The three operas on the agenda are Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Gianni Schicchi.

Sir Antonio Pappano will conduct the Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in a 28 July Beethoven concert.

That’s four festivals now up and running: Pesaro, Ravenna, Torre del lago, Martina Franca.

Comments

  • annnon says:

    Italy.

    Rushing to re-open ahead of…Germany.

    Remember when Italy was the first European country right out of the gate to ban all flights from China?

    But forgot to track its own citizens coming back from China via flights from other countries?

    And remember when conservatories in Milan banned ALL Asian students from attending classes?

    But forgot to account for its own native students?

    I can’t wait to see how this will all turn out as only the Italians can manage to do it.

    • Optimism for a change says:

      Why do certain people just wish for failure all the time. Sit home and quarantine for the rest of your life? The flu takes tens of thousands of lives every year and Covid-19 is likely to do so even when there’s a vaccine. Let’s try optimism for a change.

      • Peter San Diego says:

        The varied re-opening strategies adopted by different states in the U.S. will provide a test of epidemiology modeling and principles. I’m pretty sure that reliance on optimism won’t prove to be a sound choice.

      • Tiredofitall says:

        Wow, I’ve been quarantining for nothing more than the common cold? I guess it’s true that ignorance really is bliss.

        For comparison with the “flu”, read this. It explains the difference simply. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/02/theres-more-accurate-way-compare-coronavirus-deaths-flu/

      • Maria says:

        Please don’t trot out the robotic flu death record versus Covid-19. If you haven’t had the virus, then you don’t know. Buckets of realism, not optimism, is what is needed, and that to some may appear as pessimism, but you can’t run health on optimism. You have to see things as they are not how lovely it all would be in the Italian sunshine. I presume you are going to go then to this festival – wave the flag and wear a mask?

    • Ron Swanson says:

      Covid 19 was in Italy before the Chinese admitted that it was a problem. Milan had a weekly direct flight from Wuhan. It has been found in blood tests from Paris on December 28th. The Chinese didn’t disclose person to person contact until the 14th of January. Gentic mutation evidence suggests that it was in New York at the end of January. The strain in New York came from London and Milan.

  • Dalledu Alletre says:

    Here’s a question: how is it Rossini’s music lends itself perfectly to a festival while Puccini’s does not?

    (And Rossini wrote more tragedies, not fewer, than Puccini.)

    • Bruce says:

      Maybe Rossini is easier to take in large doses? With Puccini you’re just worn out at the end of the evening.

      (I say this without actually knowing any of Rossini’s tragedies.)

      • Dalledu Alletre says:

        Well, Bruce, you should try Otello, for instance. There’s a nicely sung video on Decca conducted by Muhai Tang.

        I agree with your observation about doses. Ultimately Rossini comes across as a bon vivant, someone to enjoy spending time with, whereas Puccini projects as what he was: a fascist.

    • justsaying says:

      The bulk of Puccini’s operas are in standard repertory, and have been for most operagoers’ whole lives. Less than 10% of Rossini’s have that status – so everybody has discoveries to make, and even devotees have operas to see that they haven’t seen in 10 or 15 years.

      • Stuart says:

        That being said I would seek out a production of any opera by Rossini whereas most Puccini leaves me cold. Over played. It is not for a lack of listening these past 45 years but I avoid Turandot and Butterfly, Boheme and Tosca have their moments but overall are tiresome and Trittico is largely crap. Now Fanciulla I like. I have seen most of Puccini’s operas (nothing pre-Boheme and not Manon) and only 15 of Rossini’s 39 operas. 10% of Rossini’s operas would be four. Just the comedies alone (Barbieri, Italiana, Cenerentola, Turco and Comte Ory) exceed that total. Then there are frequent appearances by Semiramide, Guillaume Tell, Viaggio and Otello – yes, no where near the number of annual performances of Puccini works mentioned above, but oh so much more satisfying. I’d much rather explore the interesting pathways of Rossini and Donizetti than attend yet another production of a Puccini opera. Yes, likely not a mainstream view – spare me your thumbs down.

  • Anarhimik says:

    I wonder how come that Italy, the country which was so badly hit by the virus is now rushing at full speed to restore its music festivals while all other places (except Salzburg, of course) decided to “hibernate” until better times! What happened to “a burnt child” who ”dreads the fire”?

  • nomen nescio says:

    Well, trucks may be needed, but not just for ice cream, as planned, apparently. Happy go lucky.

  • Elizabeth M. Salter says:

    Good News. With audience 2 metres apart?

  • MOST READ TODAY: