On April 29, 2018 Irina Lungu will sing the title role of Anna Bolena at the Teatro Filarmonico Verona, in a Graham Vick production under the musical direction of Maestro Jordi Bernàcer. She will sing an additional performance on May 4, 2018, sharing the stage with Annalisa Stroppa as Giovanna Seymour, Antonino Siragusa as Lord Riccardo Percy, Mirco Palazzi as Enrico VIII and Martina Belli as Smeton.

This will be the second outing as the doomed English queen for Irina Lungu, who made her highly praised role debut in May 2017 at the Opéra Grand Avignon. “Bolena is my second role of the so-called Donizetti Tudor trilogy”, states the Russian soprano”, the first one being Maria Stuarda, which I debuted at the Teatro alla Scala early in my career. Bolena is much more challenging, due to its frequent recurring to the extremities of a soprano vocal range, not to mention the sheer length of the part: she is almost always on stage and her finale scene contains about twenty minutes of some of the most fiendish music ever written for a soprano.”

Irina Lungu has been enjoying a particularly fruitful association with the Fondazione Arena di Verona, having appeared at the Arena itself or at the Teatro Filarmonico in numerous roles, including the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor,  Giulietta in I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Micaëla in Carmen and Norina in Don Pasquale.

Information about Anna Bolena at the Teatro Filarmonico Verona:

Anna Bolena: Irina Lungu / Elena Mosuc; Giovanna Seymour: Annalisa Stroppa; Lord Riccardo Percy: Antonino Siracusa / Mert Süngü; Enrico VIII: Mirco Palazzi; Smeton: Martina Belli; Rochefort: Romano Dal Zovo; Sir Harvey: Nicola Pamio.

Jordi Bernàcer, conductor; Graham Vick, stage director

Performances: April 29; May 4, 2018