Teatro Regio di Parma: Il Matrimonio Segreto

Domenico Cimarosa”s dramma giocoso returns to Teatro Regio almost 60 years after its last performance

Almost 60 years after its last performance at Teatro Regio di Parma, Il matrimonio segreto, dramma giocoso in two acts by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, returns to the stage on Friday, February 10th, at 8.00 p.m. (performances on February 12th and at 8.00 p.m., on February 19th at 3.30 p.m.). Roberto Catalano signs the staging of the new production realised in co-production with Ópera de Tenerife and Teatro Massimo di Palermo; the direction is by Davide Levi, on the podium of the Cupiditas Orchestra. The sets are by Emanuele Sinisi, the costumes by Ilaria Ariemme, the lights by Fiammetta Baldiserri, the choreographic movements by Sandhya Nagaraja.

The staging was created in 2021 as part of Opera (e)Studio, the Ópera de Tenerife’s project that offers new generations of opera singers the opportunity to appear on the international stage, taking part in new productions and making their debut on prestigious opera stages. Starring Giulia Mazzola (Carolina 10, 17), Veronika Seghers (Carolina 12, 19), Antonio Mandrillo (Paolino 10, 17), Bekir Serbest (Paolino 12, 19), Veta Pilipenko (Fidalma 10, 17), Valentina Stadler (Fidalma 12, 19), Francesco Leone (Geronimo 10, 17), Ignas Melnikas (Geronimo 12, 19), Marilena Ruta (Elisetta 10, 17), Eleonora Nota (Elisetta 12, 19), Jan Antem (Conte Robinson 10, 17), Ramiro Maturana (Conte Robinson 12, 19).

Composed between 1791 and 1792 for the court of Vienna on commission of Emperor Leopold, Il matrimonio segreto was performed on February 7th, 1792 at the Burgtheater and was an immediate success, so much so that it is said that the Emperor, overcome with enthusiasm, ordered a second performance that same evening. A plot full of misunderstandings skilfully unravelled thanks to a perfect narrative device and a lively, light, flowing musical style make Cimarosa’s masterpiece the most luminous example of the opera buffa of the Neapolitan school, the only 18th-century opera apart from the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy never to leave the great repertoire.

The production staged at Teatro Regio sets the story on 1950s Broadway: here Geronimo, a Neapolitan who has emigrated to New York, has opened a luxurious pastry shop and dreams of his two daughters marrying rich aristocrats. But Carolina, who meanwhile dreams of making her debut in Broadway theatres with her idol Gene Kelly, loves the delivery boy, Paolino, whom she marries in secret.
“In this small world,” explains director Roberto Catalano, “made up of more or less sincere desires and aspirations, move characters who tend towards what they believe could be an idea of happiness: the frantic and hurried search to which we all seem so devoted that, more often than not, it leads nowhere. And then, there are the newlyweds with their simple happiness, their dreams and their imagination that can always lift them from the burden of needing what is always further away from where they are. This is what probably brought them together and this is what will always keep them safe. Geronimo & Co. is the little world where, for a whole day, feelings closer to us than we can imagine are born and live”.

A ticket for two

In the month of love, Teatro Regio di Parma is launching a promotion dedicated to all couples: for every ticket purchased for one of the performances of Il matrimonio segreto, a second ticket will be added for two euros. The promotion is valid for the first 50 couples, only for purchases made at the Theatre Box Office and subject to availability.

Il matrimonio segreto for schools and families

As part of RegioYoung 2023, Domenico Cimarosa’s opera will be staged in a special shortened version, lasting about one hour, in four appointments dedicated to children aged 11 to 18: the performances scheduled for Saturday, February 11th, 4 p.m., and Saturday, February 18th 3 p.m. and 5.30 p.m., are dedicated to families, while the performance on Wednesday, February 15th, 10 a.m., is reserved for school audiences.

Opera rehearsals

The rehearsals of Il matrimonio segreto are open to the public in the days leading up to the debut: crucial moments in which the complex work on stage and behind the scenes finds a fascinating synthesis. The rehearsal on Tuesday, February 7th, 8 p.m., is reserved for the under-30 audience, while the rehearsal on Wednesday, February 8th, 8 p.m., is open to the public.

Il matrimonio segreto on OperaVision

The opera will be streamed on operavision.eu on March 10th, 2023, at 8 p.m., and will remain available on the platform until September 10th, 2023.
OperaVision is the free streaming platform supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, a true digital stage that connects Europe’s most important theatres, offering a rich programme of operas, concerts, dance, performances, live and on demand, accompanied by extra and in-depth content.

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE A L'OPÉRA DE PARIS

October 2024

OPERA CHARM TEAM

PREMIERE OF ‘DON CARLO’ AT WIENER STAATSOPER

September 2024

Opera Charm Team

Alice Lechner

Alice Lechner comes from a music-loving family. Her first encounter with the opera universe was at the tender age of six. The grandeur of the stage productions and costumes, the backstage chatter, and last, but definitely not least, the music left her in awe, beginning with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The overall feeling that opera awakens in anyone who gets a glimpse into this part of artistic eternity, that each and every day passes the test of time, was what drew her to stay and be a part of this world. The Opera House of Brașov became her second home, and the people who worked there were her second family.

Since then, Alice has devoted her spare time to maximising her musical knowledge through instrumental studies, studying both piano and violin for a short time. In the following years, her number one passion stepped out of the limelight and graciously gave way to Law Studies.
Since 2018 she has been studying Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Her passion for opera, even if it is no longer her top professional priority in terms of career, it has most definitely become her priority during her free time. Wanting to experience the best of both worlds and extend her musical horizons, she regularly attends opera performances throughout Romania and abroad.
With OPERA Charm Magazine, Alice aims to nurture her creative side to help it flourish and bloom and to discover, alongside the magazine’s readers, the fascinatingly complex world of opera.

Currently, she is an LL.M. in Business Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Oana Zamfir

Oana Zamfir is a second year MA student at the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, at the Department of Musicology.

She studied violin for 12 years at the “Stefan Luchian” High School of Art in Botosani, later focusing on the theoretical aspects of music. In 2019 she completed her bachelor studies in Musicology as a student of the National Academy of Music “Gheorghe Dima” in Cluj-Napoca. Her research during 2018-2019 brought to the forefront elements of the archaic ritual within works of composers who activated during the communist period, giving her the opportunity to start a research internship at the “Carl von Ossietzky” University in Germany. In this context, she recorded conversations with members of the Sophie Drinker Institute in Bremen, and had access to documents directly from the Myriam Marbé archive.

Since 2019 she has been a teacher of Music Education and Theoretical Music Studies, making full use of interactive methods in the musical training of students and working, at the same time, with the children’s choir founded in the first year of her activity.

Her interests include pursuing a degree in interior design in 2020.

Alexandru Suciu

Alexandru Suciu inherited his passion for art growing up in a family of several generations of musicians. He began his musical studies at the “Augustin Bena” School of Music in Cluj, where he studied piano and guitar. Even though his main study direction was philological, his passion for music prevailed. He began his academical journey at the Faculty of Letters of the “Babeș-Bolyai” University, studying Comparative literature and English. He continued by studying Opera Singing at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy. He also graduated the Musical Education section, followed by Artistic Directing at the Musical Performing Arts department.

His multidisciplinary education opened the doors towards research, which is seen both through his participation in national and international conferences and symposia, such as the Salzburg Easter School PhD-forum, organized by the Salzburg Universität or the Silesian Meeting of Young Scholars, organized by the Institute of English at the University of Silesia, as well as the collaboration with Opera Charm Magazine.

During his student years, he won several prizes, including the Grand Prize at the “Paul Constantinescu” National Musical Interpretation Competition, the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union Prize at the same competition, the First Prize and the Schubert Prize at the “Ada Ulubeanu” Competition.

He further developed his artistic skills by specializing in courses and masterclasses held by personalities such as Vittorio Terranova, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Marian Pop, Ines Salazar, Riccardo Zanellato, Paolo Bosisio, Valentina Farcaș and Manuel Lange in contexts such as the Internationale Sommerakademie für Operngesang Deutschlandsberg, Corso Internazionale di Canto Lirico I.M.C. Licata or the Europäische Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst Montepulciano. Besides his activity on-stage, he currently teaches Opera Singing Didactics, and Pedagogical Practice within the Department for Teacher Education and Training at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy.

Cristina Fieraru

Cristina is a 24 year-old Romanian soprano & a student at the National University of Music Bucharest, where she pursues the MA program in Vocal Performance.

She made her debut in Pamina from “Die Zauberflöte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at only 19 years old at the Bucharest National Opera House, as a member of the Ludovic Spiess Experimental Opera Studio. Over the years she made her debut in roles such as Contessa d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Mimì & Musetta (La Bohème), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte) in her university’s opera productions.
Her passion and experience extends in the field of choral music, too.

She has been part of our dream team since the fall of 2021. For a good period of time she took care of OPERA Charm’s social media and took you on the monthly journey through the history of opera through our Legends rubric – and a few times through the Theaters around the World rubric.

Her little soul rubric – from 2021 to present – is definitely the Conductors of the Future, where, every month, she gives you the chance to meet a young star of the world of conducting and, of course, to find out what’s the most charming feature of opera in these artists’ views.

BIANCA L. NICA

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