Donizetti's Emilia di Liverpool
The European Opera Centre, Liverpool, December 31, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Photographs taken
at the dress rehearsals and provided
by the European Opera Centre, who hold the copyright.
Further
photographs can be found at http://www.dogsdinner.org/opera/
Cast and production
There were three alternate casts with young singers from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Romania and Spain and an orchestra of young musicians from Liverpool’s associate cities – Bremen, Gdansk and from Liverpool itself. This European Opera Centre production also toured Bremen and Gdansk later in January and plan to go to Naples later in 2008.
The photographs include singers from the following two casts:-
Emilia - Martine Reyners Claudio - Cosmin Sime Federico - Bruno Comparetti Don Romaldo - Vincenzo Taormina Candida - Adriana Festeu Luigia - Karine Lavorel Il Conte - Etienne Hersperger |
Emilia - Francesca Park Claudio - Marc Canturri Federico - Philippe Talbot Don Romaldo - Vasco Fracanzani Candida - Christina Khosrowi Luigia - Joelle Fleury Il Conte - Etienne Hersperger |
Conductor - Giovanni Pacor
Director - Ignacio Garcia
Designer - Elisabetta Pian
Lighting - José Luis Canales
Generally, the production received a warm welcome, "A terrific work, beautifully performed " (Tim Ashley, The Guardian, January 7, 2008). Glyn Mon Hughes in the Liverpool Daily Post (January 2, 2008) noted that " The superbly dramatic all-male chorus was perched on the balcony and the orchestra on the stage, with action in the round. It was a fast-paced work with some quite stunning singing, particularly from Belgian soprano Martine Reyners, who sang Emilia." Anthony Holden in the Observer (January 13, 2008) was also impressed by Reyners and wrote that " It seems absurd that this rare chance to hear this wonderful work so well performed was buried away beneath the avalanche of Beatlemania." Rupert Christiansen in the Daily Telegraph (January 7, 2008) commented that " The intimacy and resonant acoustic of the chamber flattered their voices, but praise is still due to Vesselina Genchova Vassileva (a fluent and agile if somewhat sharp-toned Emilia), Cozmin Sime (Claudio), Bruno Comparetti (Federico) and Vincenzo Taormina (Don Romualdo), all of whom sang with spirit and some sense of style."
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Emilia - Martine Reyners
Emilia - Martine Reyners
Federico - Bruno Comparetti,
Don Romaldo - Vincenzo Taormina, Candida - Adriana Festeu,
Claudio - Cosmin Sime, Emilia - Martine Reyners
Don Romaldo - Vincenzo Taormina, Il Conte - Etienne Hersperger
Federico - Philippe Talbot, Don Romaldo - Vasco Fracanzani
Claudio - Marc Canturri, Emilia - Francesca Park
Romaldo - Vasco Fracanzani with the rest of the cast in the background