What a joy it is to visit faraway places, borne on the wings of great operatic arias. This spring we can fly away to China, Italy and Russia.
Three riddles and a wedding
Puccini’s last masterpiece includes some of his best-loved arias. The opera also boasts confrontational duets, high tragedy and some comic interludes with characters Ping, Pang and Pong (reminding us that Turandot began as a Commedia dell’Arte play by Carlo Gozzi). Will the neurotic Turandot and reckless Calaf find love in the end, at the price of sweet and loving Liu’s tragic death? China’s imperial palace is a dark and dangerous place: «Nessun Dorma»!
Words and music
Pushkin could hardly have dreamed of a more insightful psychological interpretation of his verse novel than Tchaikovsky’s sensitive orchestration. Tatyana falls in love with Eugene Onegin at first sight, but he rebuffs her with withering condescension. Long after, the seemingly heartless hero realises that he loves her. Too late! He is spurned in his turn.
Drunk on love
Donizzetti composed 73 operas, and Elisir d’Amore is one of just a few (like Lucia di Lammermoor) that have brought the tirelessly prolific composer lasting fame. This bittersweet drama in fine musical form tells us of Nemorino’s besotted love for the capricious Adina. Proposals for a hasty wedding, floral bouquets in abundance and plot twists galore ... it’s all great fun.
Turandot. Opéra en 3 actes de
Giacomo Puccini
Les 27, 30 avril, 2 et 5 mai
à l’Opéra de Marseille
Eugène Onéguine. Opéra lyrique en 3 actes
de Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski
Les 24, 26 et 28 mai
à l’Opéra de Toulon
L’Elisir d’amore. Opéra en 2 actes de
Gaetano Donizetti
Les 19 et 21 mai
à l’Opéra Confluence Avignon
Par Dominique Juan
Côteweb 2021, création de site Internet sur Nice