| On 21st February I’m returning to the Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari, after a ten-year absence, honoured to have been chosen resolutely by theatre management for this special occasion. On 21st February 1776, in Altamura, Vincenzo Lavigna, a composer who received his education from the Neapolitan School and a teacher with infallible intuition, was born. He was Verdi’s private tutor after the great rejection by the Conservatory of Milan and was extraordinarily important for his education. For the 250th anniversary of Lavigna’s birth, being celebrated with the first modern-day performance of his Symphony in C, the Teatro Petruzzelli has created this special concert featuring, along with me, the orchestra and chorus of the theatre conducted by Sesto Quatrini (it’s a true pleasure to be working again with the excellent Teatro Petruzzelli Chorus prepared by Marco Medved, just a few days after the premiere of Marina by Giordano at the Teatro Dal Verme). The programme for this gala concert, besides the work by Lavigna, focuses on pieces by Donizetti and Verdi: I have chosen to sing Lucrezia’s Rondò finale from Lucrezia Borgia (performed in public for the first time, after recording it for my album Indomita) Elisabetta’s final scene from Roberto Devereux, “Ritorna vincitor” from Aida, and “Tu che le vanità” from Don Carlo. |
