5, 12, 19 Nov 2005. Presented by Musica&Musica with the Orchestra and Choir of I Virtuosi dOpera di Roma, conducted by A. Melchiorre and with soloists Elizabeth Anderson, Corrado Mieli and Giancarlo Pera, directed by Barbara Painvain.

Opera Notes

After its reconstruction, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice opens its second season with La Juive by Jacques Fromental Halvy (11-23 Nov). It was first performed in Paris in 1835 and astonished everyone with the grandeur of the setting, the mass choruses, the splendour of the costumes and the 20 horses that appeared on stage. The grandeur is accentuated by its story, a drama centred on religious conflict. La Juive is also an opera with an excellent orchestration. Wagner considered it a work impossible to imitate and Mahler thought it to be one of humanitys greatest creations.

Nevertheless the opera is only rarely performed. Part of the reason is that the work demands excellent singers. On this occasion the roles of the protagonists will be: Neil Shicoff, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Bruce Sledge, Annick Massis and Susan Neves. The conductor will be Frdric Chaslin and the director Gunter Kramer. In addition to these challenges the production also has to overcome the superstitions that La Juive brings bad luck; Enrico Caruso, Giovanni Martinelli and Richard Tucker all sang in productions before they died and Jos Carreras before he fell ill. At La Fenice the work is being produced in original language for the first time. Paolo di Nicola