On January 22, 2019 Riccardo Massi will make his debut at the Teatro Comunale Bologna as Manrico in Il trovatore in a Robert Wilson production under the musical direction of Pinchas Steinberg, the first of three performances running through January 27, 2019. He will share the stage with Guanqun Yu as Leonora, Dario Solari as Conte di Luna, Nino Surguladze as Azucena and Marco Spotti as Ferrando.
“I am elated to return to sing in Italy in an opera of my favorite composer, Giuseppe Verdi. I have previously sung Manrico in Il trovatore in Toronto and Budapest and the role is a real challenge, either from a technical and vocal point of view with an incredibly wide palette range, and because there are some vocal athletic moments, not least the famous “high C” of the “pira”.”, states the Italian tenor. “From an interpretative point of view, Manrico is the classic Verdi “good guy”, the knight in shining armor defying death with no fear or hesitation.”
After this Bologna Trovatore, Riccardo Massi’s 2018/2019 engagements include Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera at the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Cavaradossi in Tosca at Washington National Opera and at Semperoper Dresden and Pollione in Norma at the Bayerische Staatsoper.
Information about Il trovatore at the Teatro Comunale Bologna:
Riccardo Massi (Manrico); Guanqun Yu (Leonora); Dario Solari (Conte di Luna) Nino Surguladze (Azucena ) Marco Spotti (Ferrando), Tonia Langella (Ines), Nicolò Donini (Un vecchio zingaro), Cristiano Olivieri (Ruiz)
Pinchas Steinberg (conductor); Robert Wilsom, stage director
Performances: Jan 22, 24, 27, 2019
[Photo credit: Il trovatore – Manrico: Riccardo Massi, Azucena: Nino Surguladze_@ Lucie Jansch TCBO]