On August 2 and 3, 2019 George Gagnidze will sing Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana in Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019, in a Giorgio Barberio Corsetti production and under the musical direction of Maestro Juraj Valčuha. He will share the stage with Veronica Simeoni as Santuzza, Roberto Aronica as Turiddu, Leyla Martinucci as Lola and Elena Zilio as Mamma Lucia.

Cavalleria rusticana is part of the project “Inhabiting the Opera”, which aims to bring operatic masterpieces to different and unusual venues, in collaboration with the Teatro San Carlo in Naples: one of the oldest Italian towns joining forces with the oldest Italian theater. The event will be broadcast by RAI5 on August 3 at 9:15 p.m. CET, with introduction at 8:45 p.m. CET. This broadcast is a RAI co-production with RSI, which will televise it in Switzerland, and ARTE, which will broadcast it in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Principality of Monaco, among others. The opera will also be presented on the EBU platform for the associated European televisions, and from August 2019 in Japan, Hungary, Slovenia and Greece. Later on it will be shown in selected cinemas in Europe, Korea, United States and some Latin American countries, and in the spring 2020 it will be released on DVD.George Gagnidze’s very recent debut (July 2019) at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples as Alfio was extremely well received by critics and audiences alike.

Upcoming engagements for the Georgian baritone include the title role in Nabucco at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Iago in Otello at the Washington National Opera and the Nationaltheater Mannheim, and Scarpia in Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera.

Information about Cavalleria rusticana in Matera:

Santuzza: Veronica Simeoni; Turiddu. Roberto Aronica; Alfio: George Gagnidze; Lola: Leyla Martinucci; Mamma Lucia: Elena Zilio.

Juraj Valčuha, conductor; Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, stage director

Performances: August 2 and 3, 2019

[Photo by Luciano Romano]