14 September 2007 Rating 158% No Comment  

The Teatru ta' l-Opra Aurora will present their production of Giuseppe Verdi's La Forza Del Destino (The Force Of Destiny), on Saturday 13th of October. The performance will start at 7:30pm under the distinguished patronage of H.E. Dr Edward Fenech Adami, President of Malta. The Orkestra Nazzjonali ta' Malta will be led by the resident conductor, maestro Colin Attard. Novella Tabili has been engaged once more with the artistic direction. With sharp icons and progressively unstable and disjointed surroundings, the stage becomes the force of destiny itself, peopled by individuals struggling in vain to control their lives. La Forza Del Destino - to be produced for the first time at the Teatru ta' l-Opra Aurora, includes among its cast soprano Anda-Louise Bogza as Donna Leonora di Vargas; tenor Vladimir Kuzmenko as her star-crossed lover Don Alvaro; baritone Marzio Giossi as her vengeful brother Don Carlo de Vargas; and soprano Nadia Petraiko in the role of Preziosilla, a young gypsy girl. Also included in the cast, as Franciscan monks, are bass Martin Gurbal as Padre Guardiano and baritone Romano Francheschetto as Fra Melitone. La Forza del Destino will be the 27th opera for the Teatru ta' l-Opra Aurora, coinciding with the 30th Anniversary of Puccini's Madame Butterfly which was not only a first for the Aurora but also a first for Gozo. The management opted this year for a locally made set which involves Gozitan artist Paul A. Stellini as set designer and Teddy Mizzi as stage manager. The international cast will be complemented with the Aurora Opera Chorus (chorus master, Colin Attard) and the Aurora Dancers. Choreography is in the hands of Michelle Vella. Tickets for the single performance are already on sale from the Teatru ta' l- Opra Aurora Booking Office and D'Amato Records, Valletta (2123-4348) - Sliema (2133-8705). Standard Prices are: LM25 (€48.23), LM20 (€46.59), LM18 (€41.93). Bookings can be made via telephone on 21562974 or 21559452 or via email on info@leone.org.... Box office hours are from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 12pm and 4pm to 7pm. For further information one can visit www.leone.org.... Elopement, duels, a woman dressed as a man, gay military music, the chanting of monks... Such a list of trusted operatic ingredients made a rich store for Verdi. The Teatru ta' l-Opra Aurora has put all efforts in engaging some of the best world- renowned artists to interpret the main roles. This year we shall be seeing Anda-Louise Bogza, already popular in Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Florence, Munich, Frankfurt, Bordeaux, Paris, Israel,Bratislava, Bucharest, Prague, Hamburg, Budapest, Copenhagen, Sevilla, the United States and Tokyo. Accompanying her will be the Ukranian Vladimir Kuzmenko who after appearing in Kiev, Moscow, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, he became a Principal Tenor at the Warsaw National Opera, continued with his appearances in Denmark, UK, Stuttgart, Zurich and Munich and also replaced Placido Domingo at short notice at the Teatre Liceu in Barcelona. Helsinki was his last appearance before in 2005/6 he interpreted the same role which we shall see him interpreting at the Aurora, Don Alvaro in La Forza Del Destino for San Francisco Opera alongside soprano Andrea Gruber and baritone ?eljko Lucic; a performance for which he was highly acclaimed by opera critics. Don Carlo di Vargas will be interpreted by Baritone Marzio Giossi who will be appearing for the third time at the Aurora following Figaro in Barbiere di Siviglia (2003) and De Siriex in Fedora (2005). Giossi is also establishing a name for himself appearing regularly in the major theatres in France, Holland, USA, Belgium, Japan, Eire, and Switzerland as protagonist Baritone in the most popular operas. Theatres also include the famous Teatro alla Scala of Milan. La Forza del Destino is being sponsored by the Ministry for Gozo, Ministry for Tourism and Culture, National Lotteries Good Causes Fund (Ministry of Finance), Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, Bank of Valletta, Air Malta, Citadel Insurance and Victoria Local Council.