Donizetti Opera 2025

Preview
Caterina Cornaro

Tragedialirica in a prologue and two acts by Giacomo Sacchero
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
First modern performance according to the composer’s wishes
Critical edition by Eleonora Di Cintio ©Casa Ricordi, Milan
with the collaboration and contribution of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti of Bergamo

Conductor Riccardo Frizza
Director Francesco Micheli

DESCRIPTION

We present an extraordinary and little-known work that represents a crucial moment in the life and career of one of the greatest Italian composers of the 19th century: Gaetano Donizetti. Caterina Cornaro, his last completed opera, will open the Donizetti Opera festival with a new and valuable edition.
Written in 1842 to a libretto by Giacomo Sacchero, Caterina Cornaro tells the story of the Queen of Cyprus, caught up in a political intrigue involving love, friendship and the ruthless power of the Republic of Venice. Although intended for Vienna, the opera premiered only two years later in Naples, where it was neither understood nor appreciated: censorship profoundly altered the text and the orchestration was unsuitable for Neapolitan theatre.
Today, for the first time, Caterina Cornaro will be performed with the authentic finale intended by Donizetti and with the original text unaltered by censorship.
This is a unique opportunity to hear the opera as the composer intended, in all its expressive and dramatic power. The critical edition was edited by Eleonora Di Cintio for Casa Ricordi. The new production will be conducted by Riccardo Frizza, leading the Donizetti Opera Orchestra and the Accademia Teatro alla Scala Chorus.
The director is Francesco Micheli, who considers this production a final tribute to Donizetti and to the festival itself.
The cast features leading names from the opera world, such as Carmela Remigio in the role of Caterina, alongside Enea Scala, Vito Priante, Riccardo Fassi and other highly talented artists.
Caterina Cornaro is not just an opera: it is a mirror of the tensions between art and politics, of the struggle for freedom of expression and of the personal and creative decline of a great composer. It is an opportunity to get closer to music, history and theatre in an exciting and engaging way.
Are you ready to discover a hidden masterpiece?

Preview
Il campanello / Deux hommes et une femme

Il campanello

Farsa in one act
Words and Music by Gaetano Donizetti
First performance of the new version: Naples, Teatro Del Fondo, May 23, 1837
Critical Edition by Ilaria Narici ©Casa Ricordi, Milan
with the collaboration and contribution of the Municipality of Bergamo

Deux hommes et une femme

Opéra-Comique in one act by Gustave Vaëz
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
First Performance: Paris, Opéra-Comique, May 7, 1860 (as Rita, Ou Le Mari Battu)
Critical Edition by Paolo A. Rossini, in collaboration with Francesco Bellotto ©Casa Ricordi, Milan
with the collaboration and contribution of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti of Bergamo

Conductor Enrico Pagano
Director Stefania Bonfadelli

DESCRIPTION

You are invited to discover two gems of Gaetano Donizetti’s musical theatre, combining music, comedy and paradoxical situations in a brilliant and irresistible diptych. Two one-act operas are staged: Il campanello and Deux hommes et une femme, both built around a love triangle and the resulting emotional confusion, but with different styles and colours.

Written in 1837 for the Teatro del Fondo in Naples, Il campanello is a whirlwind farce in which the young Enrico tries everything to prevent his beloved Serafina from marrying the old pharmacist Don Pistacchio. He does so by disguising himself and ringing the pharmacy bell all night long, triggering a series of comical and surreal situations. Donizetti wrote not only the music but also the libretto: an example of his complete theatrical talent and generous spirit, as he gave the opera to a theatre company in financial difficulty.

Also known as Rita, ou Le mari battu, this opéra-comique – Deux hommes et une femme – was only performed after Donizetti’s death, in 1860 in Paris. It tells the story of Rita, a woman married to the shy Pepè, who is convinced that her first husband, Gasparo, is dead. But Gasparo suddenly returns, creating a comical situation full of twists and turns and power dynamics within the couple. The tone is light but pushed to the point of absurdity, with humour reminiscent of the French theatre of Feydeau and Ionesco.

The two operas will be staged by Stefania Bonfadelli and an all-female creative team. The music will be performed by the period instrument orchestra Gli Originali, conducted by Enrico Pagano, a young talent selected by Forbes as one of Italy’s most promising “100 under 30”. The singers on stage are all students of Bottega Donizetti 2025, a training project for young artists led by a great mentor of opera: Alessandro Corbelli.

These two operas are a unique opportunity to discover a different side of Donizetti: his more ironic, theatrical and experimental side. A perfect experience to approach opera in an entertaining way, with costumes, misunderstandings, unexpected returns and guaranteed laughs!

Because opera is not just emotion: it is also fun, surprise and… bells ringing in the night!

Preview
Il furioso nell’isola di S. Domingo

Melodramma in two acts by Jacopo Ferretti
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
First Performance: Rome, Teatro Valle, January 2, 1833
Critical Edition by Eleonora Di Cintio © Casa Ricordi, Milan
with the collaboration and contribution of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti of Bergamo

Conductor Alessandro Palumbo
Director Manuel Renga

DESCRIPTION

We invite you to discover a compelling and intense work by Gaetano Donizetti: Il furioso nell’isola di S. Domingo (The Madman on the Island of Saint Domingue), a title that was an extraordinary success from its first performance at the Teatro Valle in Rome in 1833. It was so highly appreciated that it was staged simultaneously in three theatres in Naples!
At the centre of the story is Cardenio, a man driven mad by love, a character inspired by the “madman of the Sierra Morena” from Cervantes’ masterpiece Don Quixote. Retired to a nursing home, the elderly Cardenio recalls his past on the island of Santo Domingo, where his passions, his sorrows and his confused memories intertwine. With him, figures such as Eleonora, his lost love, Marcella and Bartolomeo, companions from a distant past, and Kaidamà, a comic and affectionate character, come back to life.
Through a narrative that oscillates between reality and imagination, the work speaks to us of the power of feelings, the pain of loss and the fragile boundary between lucidity and madness.
For this new edition, edited by Eleonora Di Cintio, it was decided to restore parts that had originally been cut, giving the audience the complete version of the work. The direction is by Manuel Renga, also known for his shows for young people, who offers an original interpretation: an elderly Cardenio who, among objects from the past and faded memories, reconstructs his story of love and pain.
The sets and costumes are by Aurelio Colombo, with lighting by Emanuele Agliati. The cast is of the highest calibre: Paolo Bordogna will play Cardenio, Mariangela Sicilia (Abbiati Prize 2024) will play Eleonora, with musical direction by Alessandro Palumbo conducting the Donizetti Opera Orchestra and the Accademia Teatro alla Scala Chorus.
Why see this opera? Because Il furioso nell’isola di S. Domingo is not just an opera: it is a journey into the human mind and heart, through memories, dreams and fears. A profound reflection, yet full of life, music, poetry and theatre, perfect for approaching opera in an exciting and accessible way.
A unique opportunity to discover Donizetti at his most touching, modern and human.

Previews – Caterina Cornaro

Previews – Il campanello / Deux hommes et une femme

Previews – Il furioso nell’Isola di S. Domingo

Previews – Il furioso nell’Isola di S. Domingo

Previews – Il campanello

€ 15 including ticket and preparatory meeting in class

Previews – Il campanello

Previews – Il furioso nell’Isola di S. Domingo

subject to theater availability