Naples, at the San Carlo Theater Rossini's 'Maometto II' directed by Calixto Bieito, making its Neapolitan debut

To the San Carlo Theater of Naples the 2022-2023 Opera Season ends with Muhammad II, one of the least performed works of Joachim Rossini and therefore not to be taken, proposed in a new production directed by Calixto Bieito and the direction of Michele Mariotti.

After the cancellation of the premiere on October 25th due to workers joining the national strike, the show will debut on Sunday October 29 (5pm) and will be on stage with three more performances until November 5th.

The Spanish Calixto Bieito, for the first time at the Neapolitan Massimo, and considered one of the most interesting European directors, known for his visionary stagings with a high level of energy. For this new production of the Teatro San Carlo he uses the scenes of Anna Kirsch, of the costumes of Swallow Krügler and some lights Michael Bauer.

He climbs onto the podium Michele Mariotti, leading the San Carlo Orchestra and Choir (the latter prepared by the Deputy Maestro Vincenzo Caruso), while the voice cast is made up of Dmitry Korchak (Paolo Erisso), Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (Anna), Varduhi Abrahamyan (Calbo), Li Danyang (Condulmiero), Roberto Wine cutter (Muhammad II) e Andrew Lime (Selimo). 

Composed to a libretto by Cesare Della Valle – based on his tragedy Anna Erizo - The Muhammad the Second is set in 1470, and is inspired by the historical episode of the siege and fall of the Venetian colony of Negroponte, defeated by the forces of the Ottoman Empire. Rossini wrote the opera in 1820 precisely for the Teatro San Carlo, of which he was artistic director at the time, but after the only revival in the 1825-26 season the work was never performed in Naples again.

The new setup therefore represents an important occasion, also because thecritical edition prepared by Rossini Foundation of Pesaro.