Welcome to Madrid

The expert comic opera director, Laurent Pelly, directs a version of the classic dramma buffo in Two Acts by Gioachino Rossini from 31 May to 12 June at the Teatro Real.

Following his hits in the Madrid theatre with La Fille du Régiment, Falstaff and Viva la mamma!, the French director is back accompanied by the Italian musical conductor, Giacomo Sagripanti, to stage this 1814 comedy by Felice Romani, based on the piece of the same name by Caterino Mazzolà.

It is set in 18th century Naples, where the Turkish Prince Selim arrives to discover the pleasures of the West.  There, he attracts the attention of Fiorilla, a woman who collects lovers as a hobby.  Fiorilla is married to Don Geronio, a weak and overly cautious man, but this love triangle does not stop there, as Prince Selim’s former girlfriend, Zaida, soon joins the web, along with Fiorilla’s former lover, Don Narciso. They are joined by the poet, Prosdocimo, who is actually writing a drama, inspired by the events that are occurring.

Rossini and Romani interlink the truth and lies, reality and fiction, creating a modern proposal that imbues the spectator in a theatre inside another theatre.

Artistic File:

• Musical Director - Giacomo Sagripanti
• Stage Director and Costume Designer - Laurent Pelly
• Costume Collaborator - Jean-Jacques Delmotte
• Stage Designer - Chantal Thomas
• Choirmaster - Andrés Máspero

Cast:

• Selim - Alex Esposito (31 May; 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 June) and Adrian Sampetrean (1, 3, 7, 11 June)
• Fiorilla - Lisette Oropesa (31 May; 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 June) and Sara Blanch (1, 3, 7, 11 June)
• Don Geronio - Misha Kiria (31 May; 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 June) and Pietro Spagnoli (1, 3, 7, 11 June)
• Don Narciso - Edgardo Rocha (31 May; 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 June) and Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (1, 3, 7, 11 June)
• Poeta Prosdocimo - Florian Sempey (31 May; 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 June) and Mattia Olivieri ( 1, 3, 7, 11 June)
• Zaida - Olga Syniakova
• Albazar - Pablo García-López
• Choir and Orchestra - Teatro Real Resident Choir and Orchestra

Programme:

Dramma Buffo in Two Acts

• Music by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
• Libretto by Felice Romani, based on the piece of the same name by Caterino Mazzolà
• Premièred at the Scala Theatre, Milan on 14 August 1814
• Première at the Teatro Real
• New production by the Teatro Real, in co-production with the Lyon Opera and the New National Theatre Tokyo