The Plácido Domingo Perfection Center premieres Narciso, by Domenico Scarlatti, in Austria
01.09.2014
-Davide Livermore, artistic director of the project, directs this new co-production of the Palau de les Arts with the prestigious Tyrolean festival
-The artists from the Centre Federica Alfano, Valentino Buzza, Choi Hyekyung and Chiara Osella join Maite Beaumont in the cast
-Juan Luis Martínez from Valencia will conduct the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in the Valencia premiere of this work in May 2015
Valencia. The Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo premiered the new production of Narciso , by Domenico Scarlatti, at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival (Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik) on August 29.
This marks the first international operatic foray of this project, based at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. Under the direction of Davide Livermore, artistic director and stage director of the production, artists from the Centre de Perfeccionament Federica Alfano—Valentino Buzza, Choi Hyekyung, and Chiara Osella—have accompanied the Navarrese mezzo-soprano Maite Beaumont in performances of Narcissus in Austria.
Domenico Scarlatti's Narcissus marks the first collaboration between the Palau de les Arts and the Innsbruck Early Music Festival, one of the most important festivals of its kind and the longest-running in its category. The production features stage direction and set design by Davide Livermore, costumes by Mariana Fracasso, video design by D-WOK, and lighting by Antonio Castro.
The Tiroler Landestheater in the Alpine city hosted two performances of this work on August 29 and 31, with Fabio Biondi conducting and the Europa Galante ensemble in the pit. Innsbruck is considered one of the leading cities for early music lovers, having hosted performers such as John Eliot Gardiner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jordi Savall, and Alan Curtis, among others.
The Martín i Soler Theatre will host the Spanish premiere of this co-production at the end of May 2015, with Juan Luis Martínez conducting the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana. This will be the second time the Valencian maestro has led the Palau de les Arts' resident orchestra, following his acclaimed debut with Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in May 2012.
Domenico Scarlatti's Narciso marks a new foray by the Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo into the revival of works outside the traditional repertoire. Since Davide Livermore became artistic director, the Turin-born maestro has explored a wide range of genres and styles with the artists in this project, aiming to provide the young singers with the most comprehensive training possible.
Premieres such as L'incoronazione di Dario , by Vivaldi, or the opera Cánticos desde el infierno , with libretto by Ramón Sampedro and music by Andrea Chenna, have been some of the innovative bets of the Centre de Perfeccionament last season.
For the new opera season, in addition to the production of Narciso , the artists of the Centre de Perfeccionament present a varied program that includes Antonio Vivaldi's oratorio Juditha triumphans , with Federico Maria Sardelli on the podium, for which Livermore proposes a concert-show format on November 21, 22 and 23, 2014.
On January 27, 2015, to mark the anniversary of Mozart's birth, the performers of the Centre de Perfeccionament offered a concert-show featuring works by the genius from Salzburg, as well as by Vicente Martín i Soler, Mozart's contemporary and rival in imperial Vienna of the 18th century.
