15 June-2 July 2006. Conducted by Semyon Bychkov, directed by Hugo de Ana, with Marcello Giordani, Violeta Urmana, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Roberto Frontali and Mariana Pentcheva.

The Teatro Regio in Turin will also close the season in grand style with Don Carlo by Verdi (15 June-2 July). This is a very long, difficult and majestic opera because the score is complex while the characters are psychologically complicated and require sensitive interpretations. Turin will have a good conductor in Semyon Bychkov and well-prepared singers like Ferruccio Furlanetto, Roberto Frontali, Mariana Pentcheva and Marcello Giordani. Piquing curiosity will be the presence of Violeta Urmana, who has moved to soprano roles and who will tackle Elisabetta di Valois. She will try to repeat her past success as a mezzosoprano, when she won over the public with her interpretation of the Principessa dEboli, the other female character in Don Carlo. The performance carries the signature of Hugo de Ana; it has already been seen in Madrid and Genova several years ago where it enchanted and excited all with its magnificent scenery, the richness of its costumes, the skill of its lighting and its diligent, intelligent interpretation.

Paolo Di Nicola