Organization

Festival della Valle d'Itria

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Sonia Prina

Orlando

Soprano

Michela Antenucci

Angelica

Lucia Cirillo

Alcina

Loriana Castellano

Bradamante

Konstantin Derri

Medoro

Countertenor

Luigi Schifano

Ruggiero

Bass

Riccardo Novaro

Astolfo

Conductor

Diego Fasolis

Stage director

Fabio Ceresa

Set designer

Massimo Checchetto

Costume designer

Giuseppe Palella

Chorus master

Ferdinando Sulla

Lighting designer

Giuseppe Calabrò

Choreographer

Riccardo Olivier

Orchestra

I Barocchisti

Orlando furioso -  (Orlando Furioso)

Martina Franca

Italy

Palazzo Ducale

Orlando furioso by A.Vivaldi, from Festival della Valle d'Itria, performed at Palazzo Ducale, Martina Franca, 2017. Directed by Fabio Ceresa, conductor Diego Fasolis, starring Riccardo Novaro, Sonia Prina, Michela Antenucci, Lucia Cirillo, Loriana Castellano, Konstantin Derri, Luigi Schifano. Performed in Italian.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons need no introduction, but few are familiar with the Italian Baroque composer’s operatic works (despite his claim to have written as many as 94 during his lifetime!). In 2017, Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso—an exciting musical reinterpretation of episodes from Italian Renaissance poet Ludovico Ariosto’s epic romance of the same name—raged onto the outdoor stage of the 43rd Annual Festival della Valle d’Itria. The spellbinding and radiant production was led to great acclaim by music director Diego Fasolis and stage director Fabio Ceresa.

Every summer, the southeastern Italian town of Martina Franca hosts the Festival della Valle d’Itria, an exciting musical event that seeks to return obscure or rarely performed lyric works to the operatic stage. The 2017 production of Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso continued that enterprising tradition: despite being one of the composer’s better-known operas, it is far from mainstream. The plot concerns the exploits of Orlando, a brave and upstanding knight, who finds himself captured on the magical island of Alcina, an evil sorceress who plays with mortals’ lives for her own amusement.

This cleverly constructed interpretation blends selected Baroque stylistic and performing traditions with a modern aesthetic and a vibrant and sparkling performance on period instruments by Diego Fasolis’s vocal and instrumental ensemble I Barocchisti. Massimo Cecchetto’s simple yet powerful set complemented strong performances by a first-rate cast (led by contralto Sonia Prina as Orlando and mezzo soprano Lucia Cirillo as Alcina). A thrilling operatic experience for music lovers of all stripes!

Orlando Furioso by Vivaldi, From (2017/2017), Directed by Fabio Ceresa,, Conductor Diego Fasolis, Palazzo Ducale, Martina Franca, Italy

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