On 19 and 22 February, I will be back at the Teatro San Carlo to conduct Le tre regine, in a city and at a theatre where Donizetti felt at home and so are particularly dear to me. Who other than Sondra Radvanovsky could have taken up this new challenge? Sondra and I gave this concert for the first time in December 2019 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and a repeat performance in May 2021 at the Liceu in Barcelona. In Le tre regine we present the finales from Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, showcasing the drama and the vocalism of three of the most fascinating heroines in the history of opera: Anne Boleyn, Mary Stuart and Elizabeth. I can imagine no better voice than that of Sondra to take on such a challenge, because she is able to immerse herself fully in the style of these operas, leading to a performance which is no less than sublime. Even those who are unable to come and listen to us at the Teatro San Carlo can appreciate this by listening to the recording, to be released on 4 March under the Pentatone label, with the live recording we made in Chicago.
A further cause for pride for me, as music director of Donizetti Opera, is to be conducting Donizetti here in Naples. I have long aspired to work with Teatro San Carlo and began only last year, but we have several different projects in the pipeline. One has been announced and I can confirm here that we will be performing Il barbiere di Siviglia in July with a fantastic cast and Filippo Crivelli’s memorable staging.