Organization

Bregenzer Festspiele

Conductor

Dirk Kaftan

Stage director

Olivier Tambosi

Set designer

Frank Philipp Schlößmann

Costume designer

Gesine Völlm

Lighting designer

Davy Cunningham

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Alessandra Volpe

Rubria

Bass

Miklós Sebestyén

Tigellino

Soprano

Svetlana Aksenova

Asteria

Tenor

Taylan Reinhard

Gobrias

Rafael Rojas

Nero

Contralto

Katrin Wundsam

Cerinto

Baritone

Ilya Kutyukhin

Dositèo

Brett Polegato

Fanuèl

Pèrside

Lucio Gallo

Simon Mago

Hyunduk Kim

Primo Viandante

Shira Patchornik

Voci di Donna

Chorus master

Lukáš Vasilek

Others

Philharmonischer Chor Prag

Orchestra

Vienna Symphony Orchestra

Italian

Nerone -  (Nero)

Bregenz

Austria

Bregenzer Festspielhaus

Sala Argentina

One of the most notorious historical figures comes to the stage of the Festspielhaus: the Roman Emperor Nero. He appears as a dazzling figure in Arrigo Boito's opulent opera. The spectacular self-portrayal of his power contrasts with the plagues of conscience after the murder of his mother.

The dark rituals of the pagan magician Simon Mago and the transfiguring purity of the emerging Christianity, for which the prophet Fanuèl stands, are also presented as different poles. The vestal virgin Rubria, who sees herself between two faiths, loves him. With the help of Asteria, who is in love with Nero, Simon Mago stages the appearance of a goddess of the night in order to make the emperor docile. However, Nero debunks the spell and proclaims the end of the gods. He places himself on the altar and begins to sing there. As an artist, as a divine poet, he allows himself to be celebrated and ignites a great spectacle, even when Rome has already gone up in flames.

This work, which Boito had struggled to complete for several decades since 1862, became his life's work. Only after his death was it brought into a playable version under the direction of conductor Arturo Toscanini and premiered in 1924 at La Scala in Milan. Boito's libretti, for Giuseppe Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, among others, are among the most outstanding creations in the history of opera. As the brains behind the Scapigliatura artistic movement, Boito also wrote the libretto for Franco Faccio's opera Hamlet, which was performed on a European stage for the first time in almost 150 years at the 2016 Bregenz Festival.

The team directing this celebrated rediscovery is now also dedicating itself to the new production of Boitos Nero (Nerone): As a passionate mediator, Olivier Tambosi stages this fascinatingly complex work, in a team with stage designer Frank Philipp Schlössmann and costume designer Gesine Völlm. The performance will be conducted by Dirk Kaftan, who also made his debut at the Bregenz Festival in 2016.

Nerone Boito

Public

German

Approved

Photos