10-26 Oct. 2003. Conducted by Nicola Luisotti, directed by Dario Fo, with Luciana Serra, Rockwell Blake, Enzo Dara, Anna Bonitatibus, Desiree Rancatore, Alfonso Antoniozzi.

The Carlo Felice in Genoa opens its opera season with Il viaggio a Reims by Rossini (10-26 Oct). The original score was discovered in the S. Cecilia archives about 20 years ago, and since then many theatres have included the opera in their seasons. Last January the Helsinki opera house entrusted it to Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo, and it is his very successful version that will be staged in Genoa. Fos interpretation is lively and full of the unexpected, including a finale in which King Charles X climbs on to a flying machine and is shot down by fireworks. Fo has also re-written a considerable part of the libretto to emphasise the satire of Rossinis work, calling in the Rossini expert Philip Gosset to guarantee the musicality of his new texts. The cast is made up of experts of the Rossini style including Luciana Serra, Rockwell Blake and Enzo Dara, as well as up-and-coming singers Anna Bonitatibus, Desiree Rancatore and Alfonso Antoniozzi. The conductor is Nicola Luisotti.