She is the brightest bel canto star of our days. Even an asteroid bears her name, which has shone in the opera firmament for years. The soprano Diana Damrau will be the protagonist of the grand finale of the Opera Festival of Stone Theatrestonight at 9 pm at the Teatro Antico in Catania. The artist will perform for the first time in Sicily in a recital focused on the bel canto repertoire of Bellini, Mozart, Rossini and Verdi: the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria and the Coro Lirico Siciliano will be led by the wise baton of Pavel Baleff.
Last night, great success for Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana”, dedicated to the memory of Nino Strano, a Catanian figure inextricably linked to art and culture. Already sold out for weeks, the show – with a sensational cast, with mezzo-soprano Anna Maria Chiuri (Santuzza), tenor Davide Piaggio (Turiddu), baritone Carlos Almaguer (compare Alfio) and mezzo-sopranos Antonella Arena and Leonora Ilieva, the Coro Lirico Siciliano and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, conducted by the absolute talent Filippo Arlia, former principal musical director of the Festival – was enriched with the translation into sign language, a pilot project of the festival, and preceded by the words of the great actor Giancarlo Zanetti and the performance of violinist Sebastian Zagame, Strano’s “godson”.
There is great satisfaction for a milestone that sealed the success of the festival, artistically directed by Francesco Costa and organized by the Coro Lirico Siciliano chaired by Alberto Munafò.
