This evening, March 4 and tomorrow afternoon March 5, 2017, Maria José Siri will sing Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at the Opera di Firenze under Myung-Whun Chung. It will be a double debut for the Uruguayan soprano, as it is her first time performing in the new opera house and her first collaboration with the prestigious South Korean conductor.

Maria José Siri has performed Verdi’s sacred masterpieces numerous times, yet she acknowledges that Myung-Whun Chung’s vision is completely different from all the others she has helped bring to life under other conductors: “When we met Mr Chung told me that the most important word is humility. The Messa da Requiem is like an opera divided in scenes, but with a great spirituality.”

Maria José Siri just scored a triumph in the inauguration of the 2016/2017 season of the Teatro alla Scala as the protagonist of Madama Butterfly. After a much lauded recent participation to Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Marek Janoswki, other performances this season include Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Regio of Turin, the Grand Théâtre of Geneva and the Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Andrea Chénier at the Rome Opera House, Andrea Chénier and Tosca at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as the title role of Madama Butterfly at the Macerata Opera Festival.

Information about Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at the Opera di Firenze:

Maria José Siri (soprano), Elena Zhidkova (mezzo-soprano), Gregory Kunde (tenor), Gianluca Buratto (bass). Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Lorenzo Fratini (chorus master), Myung-Whun Chung (conductor).

Performances: March 4 at 8:00 P.M., and March 5 at 4:30 P.M.

http://www.operadifirenze.it/events/myung-whun-chung/