Singers Yolanda Auyanet and Antonino Siragusa star in the show at Sala Sinfónica on the 24th, 26th and 28th

 

The Auditorio de Tenerife welcomes the eagerly anticipated premiere of the opera Lucrezia Borgia. The details of the show were revealed by the Cabildo de Tenerife’s Councillor of Culture, Enrique Arriaga; soprano Yolanda Auyanet, who plays the leading role; renowned Italian tenor as Gennaro, Antonino Siragusa; stage director, Silvia Paoli, and musical director, Andriy Yurkevych. This opera, which had to be cancelled in March due to health crisis, can be enjoyed on 24, 26 and 28 November at the Sala Sinfónica of Auditorio de Tenerife at 7:00 pm, half an hour earlier than usual. 

Enrique Arriaga said he felt “proud of the effort made by Auditorio de Tenerife’s team to get the show off the ground, despite having to adapt it to the new safety measures”. “Auditorio de Tenerife is one of the few cultural venues that can still put on shows of this kind with full guarantees, because this is a safe show”, he stated, adding that tickets for Saturday are sold out, “but you still have the chance to come on the premiere or on Thursday”.

Yolanda Auyanet, an internationally successful Canarian soprano, admitted she was “delighted to be back here to do our Lucrezia”. “I’d like to thank Ópera de Tenerife and the Cabildo de Tenerife for their effort, because I know it’d have been very easy to cancel or postpone it but they decided to go ahead and that’s something culture in this country is going to be very grateful for”, the singer concluded.

Antonino Siragusa, one of the best tenors at present, confessed that “it’s a great satisfaction to be back on a stage after so many months”. “The organization of Ópera de Tenerife makes us feel calm because all the necessary measures are applied to make sure it is absolutely safe to work here”, added the singer, who is making his debut with this production in the role of Gennaro.

For Silvia Paoli “Ópera de Tenerife is my family, I feel at home and thank them for their love”. The stage director stated that “hope is fundamental to continue, and that’s what we’re offering with this Lucrezia Borgia”. “It’s difficult to understand the amount of people who work in shows”, Paoli added, to then point out that it is complicated to “redo the stage direction in four days, having to apply safety measures, including facemasks and distances”.

Maestro Yurkevych recalled that “landing at the airport was like getting back home, like a father returning home to see his children”. “When we left in March our heart remained here, our work was halfway through and now, when I saw my score again I felt as if it were a sacred book that can save our civilization”, shared the maestro, who also mentioned how complex it is to work as the choir wears facemasks and the Sinfónica de Tenerife has readjusted the number of musicians and their layout. “Through what we’re doing, we’re sending a message to the world, that’s watching us”, the musical director added.

This Lucrezia Borgia by Gaetano Donizetti, a co-production led by Ópera de Tenerife with Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Ópera de Oviedo and Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, is back after applying all the safety and hygiene measures both in front and behind the stage, offering a show that is adapted to the current circumstances and is absolutely safe both for the audience and the artists. 

Silvia Paoli transfers the opera to Mussolini’s fascist Italy to reinforce the sense of oppression and claustrophobia the story suggests, specifically setting it in a slaughter house, which is recreated on the stage with a wealth of details by stage designer Andrea Belli, costumes by Valeria Donata Bettella and Alessandro Carletti’s lighting design. This is Paoli’s fourth title in Ópera de Tenerife, after La Cenerentola (2014), Le nozze di Figaro (2015) and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (2017), which are productions of the Opera (e)Studio programme. She recently directed Otello (Verdi) at the Teatro Sociale in Como and Enrico di Borgogna (Donizetti) in the Festival Donizetti in Bergamo. 

The Sinfónica de Tenerife will play under the baton of Yurkevych, musical director at the Teatr Wielki Opera Norodowa (Polish National Opera),one of the most sought-after conductors internationally. Maestro Yurkevych is making his debut with Ópera de Tenerife leading the Sinfónica and the Coro de Ópera de Tenerife after a long career as resident conductor at the Solomiya Krushelnitska Opera and Ballet Theatre, principal conductor at the Teatrul Naţional de Operă şi Balet in the Republic of Moldova and at the Teatr Wielki in Poland. He has also been musical director at Odessa’s Opera and Ballet Theatre. He is regularly invited to major theatres, festivals, and institutions worldwide. 

The leading role, Lucrezia Borgia, will be played by Canarian soprano Yolanda Auyanet, who is joined by internationally successful tenor Antonino Siragusa as Gennaro, bass Simone Alberghini playing Alfonso I d’Este, Duca di Ferrara, mezzosoprano Na’ama Goldman as Maffio Orsini, tenor Jorge Franco in the role of Jeppo Liverotto; bass Pablo Gálvez as Don Aposto Gazella, bass Daniele Terenzi as Ascanio Petrucci, tenor David Astorga playing Oloferno Vitellozzo, bass Borja Molina as Gubetta, tenor Mario Méndez as Rustighello and bass Eugenio Di Lieto as Astolfo.

The Coro de la Ópera de Tenerife is made up of the extras plus the voices of tenors and baritones and it will play a special role in this staging in which Auditorio’s Sala Sinfónica will shine again with the stage design, the orchestra, and the voices. 

Lucrezia Borgia is a melodrama in a prologue and two acts with music by Donizetti and libretto by Felice Romani. It is based on a drama, with the same title, by French writer Victor Hugo, loosely inspired by the historical figure of Lucrezia Borgia. It was premiered at the Teatro alla Scala de Milan on 26 December 1833. The composer looks deeply into the morbid legend of Pope Alessandro VI’s daughter who grew up in a family surrounded by rumours of incest, adultery, infidelity, betrayal, murder, and horror, creating a strong psychological portrait of a powerful but fragile woman.

Tickets can be booked via the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com and by telephone on 902  317 327 Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, except holidays. You can also make an appointment to come to the box office on //www.auditoriodetenerife.com/contact-us and on 922 568 625, where they can also answer all your queries Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, except holidays.

Tickets can be bought up to two hours before the show starts, to give us time to finish preparing the auditorium so that you can enjoy a fully safe experience. Buying the tickets implies the user unconditionally accepts the contents of the measures implemented by the Auditorio de Tenerife to deal with COVID-19, with no exceptions or reservations, including wearing a face mask or coming only with people you live with.  Please see all the measures and the AENOR-certified contingency plan on Auditorio’s website.