MILAN, ITALY — Gianluca Capuano was one of the brilliant directors during the peak of the summer festival season: alongside Barrie Kosky and Cecilia Bartoli.
Bringing Vivaldi to Salzburg with the highly acclaimed pastiche Hotel Metamorphosis, based on Ovid, he also triumphed with a concert version of The Barber of Seville, again with Cecilia Bartoli and Nicola Alaimo.
Aya Wakizono. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
Gianluca Capuano makes his debut at La Scala conducting the Accademia Teatro alla Scala ensembles in Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola in the historic production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, revived by Federica Stefani with lighting by Andrea Giretti.
Capuano inaugurates an important season that also includes Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno in Rome with Robert Carsen, Giulio Cesare in Florence with Davide Livermore, and, again with Livermore, Wagner’s Ring in Monte Carlo.
Photograph: Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
In 1973, La Cenerentola was the second title produced by Claudio Abbado and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle based on the critical edition of Rossini’s operas edited by Alberto Zedda. The protagonists were Teresa Berganza, Luigi Alva, Renato Capecchi, and Paolo Montarsolo.
The trilogy, which began with Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 1969, was completed with L’Italiana in Algeri (again with Berganza, revised by Azio Corghi) for the opening of the 1973/1974 season. Abbado revived the production on tour in 1972 and then again in 1974, 1976, and finally in 1982 with the revival by Sonja Frisell, who also oversaw the 2001 and 2005 editions conducted by Bruno Campanella. The last revival dates back to 2019 with Ottavio Dantone on the podium and Grischa Asagaroff in charge of the stage.
by Chidozie Obasi