9-22 March 2005. Conducted by Antonio Pirolli, directed by Paolo Baiocco, with Roberto Frontali, Dimitra Theodossiou, Roberto Scandiuzzi and Walter Fraccaro.

Giuseppe Verdis Attila will be performed at Romes Teatro dellOpera, (9-22 March). When it was staged in 1846 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice it received a lukewarm reception, even though Verdi dedicated himself to its composition. Today Attila seems more an interesting opera than a masterpiece. There is imaginative use of the orchestra and the presence of two very important characters, Attila and Odabella, for which Verdi composed some beautiful musical moments. For Attila, Verdi wrote the dream and the meeting with Pope Leo, both of which possess emotive force and austere dignity. For Odabella, Verdi composed a powerful entrance, which is one of the most compelling of the period, and another languid and ecstatic aria, with a refined orchestral accompaniment. Attila will be sung by Robert Scandiuzzi, a famous bass, recently applauded for his tormented Filippo in Verdis Don Carlo in Florence. Odabella will be sung by Dimitra Theodossiou, by now a veteran in the role: she has sung the part often in Bologna, Venice and Florence and has always approached it with warmth and impetus, but also with the shading and the abandon that it requires. Paolo Di Nicola