Mehta is conducting Verdi's La forza del destino and Puccini's Turandot at the Palau de les Arts

– Davide Livermore directs a new production of Verdi's opera, with Gregory Kunde, Liudmila Monastirska, Simone Piazzola, Stephen Milling, Ekaterina Semenchuk and In-Sung Sim in the leading roles.

The Valencian arts center presents its acclaimed production of Turandot , directed by Chen Kaige. Lise Lindstrom, Jorge de León, Jessica Nucio, and Alexander Tsymbalyuk lead the cast.

– Zubin Mehta offers a Richard Strauss monographic concert to mark the 150th anniversary of the German composer's birth.

– The Palau de les Arts begins this week the process of refunding or exchanging tickets for the VII Festival del Mediterrani for those affected by the cancellation of Manon Lescaut , by Puccini.

Valencia. Zubin Mehta will conduct Verdi's La forza del destino and Puccini's Turandot at the Festival del Mediterrani, which will be held at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía from May 31 to June 15.

The cultural venue, which resumes its 2013-2014 Season on February 23 with Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri , followed by Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and Manuel Palau's Maror , celebrates in 2014 the seventh edition of this lyrical and symphonic event presided over by the maestro from Bombay.

Mehta thus becomes the undisputed star of the Valencian arts center's programming this season. The Indian maestro, who inaugurated the Palau de les Arts' eighth season with Verdi's La Traviata and Wagner's Die Walküre , in addition to giving two concerts, has also conducted the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana on its first tour of China, the first major tour by a Spanish orchestra to the Asian country.

A new production by the Palau de les Arts of La forza del destino , by Giuseppe Verdi, an opera with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on a drama by Ángel Pérez de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, opens this lyrical and symphonic event on May 31.

Davide Livermore presents a new production of this opera following the critical and public acclaim he received for Otello in 2013, his first Verdi work for the Palau de les Arts. The Turin-born singer, teacher, and director, who is also the artistic director of the Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo, thus presents his fourth production for the Valencian arts center, where he has previously premiered Puccini's La Bohème , Vivaldi's L'incoronazione di Dario , and the aforementioned Otello .

The Palau de les Arts brings together for the cast of La forza del destino well-known performers of the Italian repertoire who have recently participated in some of the most successful productions presented in the capital of the Turia.

American tenor Gregory Kunde, winner of the Campoamor Theater Prize for his Otello at the past Festival del Mediterrani, and Liudmila Monastirska, who sang in Massenet's Le Cid under the direction of Plácido Domingo, embody, respectively, Don Alvaro and Leonora, the unfortunate lovers who are the protagonists of La forza del destino .

The Italian baritone Simone Piazzola (Don Carlo di Vargas), who sang in La Traviata in 2013, the Danish bass Stephen Milling (Padre Guardiano), acclaimed for his performances in Parsifal and Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle , as well as in Belioz's Les Troyens , the Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk (Preziosilla), who brought Azucena to life in Il trovatore in 2012, and the South Korean bass In-Sung Sim (Marchese di Calatrava), Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte , The cast is completed in 2013.

The Santiago Calatrava building will host a total of four performances of Verdi's La forza del destino , on May 31 and June 5, 10 and 14.

Puccini's Turandot , the opera with which Zubin Mehta inaugurated the first Festival del Mediterrani in 2007, is the second title programmed this year. The production directed by Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige is the most rented production in the history of the Palau de les Arts, as well as one of the first Valencian titles released on DVD. Requested by the opera houses of A Coruña, Monte Carlo, and Guangzhou (China), the Turandot production featured Lorin Maazel as musical director for its revival in the 2008-2009 season.

American soprano Lise Lindstrom embodies the cruel Princess Turandot. Lindstrom, making her debut at the Valencian opera house, is considered one of the leading interpreters of this role, having sung in prestigious theaters such as London's Covent Garden, Milan's La Scala, the Bavarian State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as at festivals like the Verona Arena.

Jorge de León returns to the Palau de les Arts, where he has enjoyed resounding success with his performances in La Bruja , La vida breve , Cavalleria rusticana , Aida , Tosca , Carmen , Le Cid , and Il trovatore . The tenor from Tenerife will sing the role of Calaf, which he previously performed under the baton of Zubin Mehta in Florence in 2012.

Italian soprano Jessica Nucio, recently acclaimed for her Violetta in La Traviata at the opening of the 2013-2014 season at the Palau de les Arts opera house in Valencia, sings the role of Liù. Rounding out the four leading roles is bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk, who sings the role of Timur, a role he previously performed in the premiere of this production in 2007 with Zubin Mehta and in its revival in 2009 with Lorin Maazel. The Ukrainian singer has also participated in the Palau de les Arts productions of Wagner's Parsifal (2008) and Mozart's Don Giovanni (2012).

In total, the Main Hall of the Calatrava building will host three performances of Turandot , by Puccini, on June 11, 13 and 15.

In the symphonic section, the program of the 7th Festival del Mediterrani will pay tribute to Richard Strauss on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Zubin Mehta will conduct the OCV in a concert featuring works by the German composer on June 4th.

Manon Lescaut Cancellation

Regarding the refund of ticket prices for the cancellation of Puccini's opera Manon Lescaut , scheduled for February 1, 4, 7, 9, 12, 15 and 18, the Palau de les Arts offers the possibility of a full refund to both season ticket holders for the 2013-2014 season and customers who purchased their tickets on general sale, or the option of exchanging the cancelled tickets for new tickets or passes for the VII Festival del Mediterrani.

Through this second option, both subscribers and customers will be able to exchange the amount of their cancelled tickets for identical seats for either of the two operas programmed in the Festival, in addition to being able to also opt for compensation of these amounts in the acquisition of Passes which, with a discount of 40% for subscribers and 25% for the general public, consist of a seat for any day of performance of each of the two opera titles along with a seat for the concert that will be conducted by Maestro Mehta.

Tickets for Manon Lescaut can be exchanged for new tickets and passes to the 7th Festival del Mediterrani until February 9th. You can request the exchange via the online form, by calling the Subscriber Support Line at 96 197 59 00, or through the Sales Line at 961 975 900.