April 27, 2017
Riccardo Massi to make his Cologne Opera debut as Calaf in Turandot
On April 27, 2017 Riccardo Massi will make his Cologne Opera debut as Calaf in a Lydia Steier production of Turandot conducted by Claude Schnitzler, the first of six performances running through May 14, 2017.
Since his 2013 role debut at the Kungliga Opera Stockholm opposite Nina Stemme, Riccardo Massi has become one of the most requested Calafs on the international scene. Other high-profile outings in this part include the Bregenz Festival, Zurich Opera and the spectacular joint production by Opera Australia and Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, recently released on Blu-Ray and DVD.
“Calaf is not a complicated character: he is all fire and passion”, says the Italian tenor. “And ‘Nessun dorma’ is absolutely the most famous tenor aria ever! Everybody knows every single word. People are waiting for it and want to hear the beauty of that high B.”
In addition to this Cologne Turandot, Massi’s 2016/2017 season include his role debut as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoj Theatre and the Berlin State Opera, his return to the Metropolitan Opera as Radames in Aida, his debut at the New National Theatre Tokyo as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Don José in Carmen at the Jhihde Hall, Cultural Center Taiwan and Manrico in Il trovatore at the Budapest Summer Festival.
Information about Turandot at the Cologne Opera:
Catherine Foster / Mlada Khudoley (Turandot), Martin Muehle / Riccardo Massi (Calaf), Guanqun Yu / Ivana Rusko (Liù), Mika Kares / Lucas Singer (Timur), Wolfgang Stefan Schwaiger (Ping), John Heuezenroeder / Ralf Rachbauer (Pang), Martin Koch / Young Woo Kim (Pong), Alexander Fedim (Altoum), Michael Mrosek (Mandarino)
Lydia Steier (stage director), Claude Schnitzler (conductor)
Performances: April 27, 29; May 4, 7, 12, 14, 2017