Ravenna Festival’s 2022 Autumn Trilogy features the Cherubini Orchestra
From 31 October to 6 November, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte
Once again this year, the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra is one of the beating hearts of the Ravenna Festival’s Autumn Trilogy, in the pit for all three titles that make up the opera triptych: Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte will alternate on the stage of the Alighieri Theatre from 31 October to 6 November, for an extraordinary journey through the universe of Mozart and Da Ponte. Conducting the Cherubini will be, respectively, Giovanni Conti, Erina Yashima, and Tais Conte Renzetti, who share the experience as students at Riccardo Muti’s Academy. For these productions, all directed by Ivan Alexandre, the Festival intertwines forces with two of Europe’s oldest theatres, the Swedish Drottningholms Slottsteater and the Opéra Royal de Versailles: “We tell the story of the same character: a libertine we call Cherubino in his youth, Don Giovanni in adulthood, and finally Don Alfonso in old age.” On stage, among others, are Arianna Vendittelli, Robert Gleadow, Clemente Antonio Daliotti, Lea Desandre, Callum Thorpe, Christian Federici, Ana Maria Labin, Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, José Maria Lo Monaco, Iulia Maria Dan, Valentina Coladonato…
The common denominator of the three young conductors is the experience within Riccardo Muti’s Italian Opera Academy. Erina Yashima, born in Germany to a Japanese family, took part in the Academy’s first edition in 2015 and then became Muti’s assistant in Chicago, as she was awarded the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Apprenticeship; after her work as assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, she is now first Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin. The other two conductors were both admitted to the 2020 Academy. Giovanni Conti, born in Varese, studied in Milan and Stuttgart and was awarded the “CAMPUS dirigieren” first prize among the best conduction students of the German conservatoires; this season, he is going to take on the role of Kapellmeister of the Krefeld-Mönchengladbach Theatre. Tais Conte Renzetti was born in Brazil and, after her studies in Wien and Italy, was the assistant of Brazilian conductor Martinho Lutero de Galati within his musical association Rete Culturale Cantosospeso in Milan.
The return to the stage of the Autumn Trilogy, the programme that since 2012 has expanded Ravenna Festival to the autumn months, crowns the Festival’s 33rd edition, turning Ravenna into a beloved destination for opera-lovers from all over Europe and beyond. This year, the trilogy par excellence takes centre stage, masterpieces that were born of one of the happiest meetings in the history of musical theatre. “They are three different plays, but performed with aesthetic harmony. It is as if one heart were beating in three different chests, a ‘cycle of desire’, three moments in a love life, crafted from the same material; familiar dramas in which everyday life turns into an extraordinary adventure,” underlines Ivan Alexandre, who also curates the lighting together with Antoine Fontaine (who is also the set and costume designer). Antonio Greco leads the Cherubini Chorus and the Coro 1685 of the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “G. Verdi” di Ravenna. The 2022 Autumn Trilogy is possible thanks to the partner Eni and to the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna.
Le nozze di Figaro – Monday 31 October at 8.30 pm
Don Giovanni – Tuesday 1 November at 8.30 pm
Così fan tutte – Wednesday 2 November at 8.30 pm
Le nozze di Figaro – Friday 4 November at 8.30 pm
Don Giovanni – Saturday 5 November at 8.30 pm
Così fan tutte – Sunday 6 November at 3.30 pm
Info and presales Alighieri Theatre Ticket Office: ph +39 0544 249244 email tickets@ravennafestival.org