Download Premiere "Il Vologeso"

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Dr. Sara Hörr (Head)
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PRESS RELEASE
Stuttgart, January 12, 2015
Claudia Hamann
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PREMIERE
Niccolò Jommellis
Il Vologeso (Berenice, Queen of Armenia)
Sunday, February 15, 2015, 6 pm // Opera house
Further performances:
February 19 | 2. | May 9 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 30 | June 4, 2015
Conductor
Directors & Dramaturges
Stage & Costume Designer
Light Designer
Gabriele Ferro
Jossi Wieler, Sergio Morabito
Anna Viebrock
Reinhard Traub
Cast
Lucio Vero
Vologeso
Berenice
Lucilla
Flavio
Aniceto
Kaiserliche Diener
Sebastian Kohlhepp
Sophie Marilley
Ana Durlovski
Helene Schneiderman
Catriona Smith
Igor Durlovski
Thembinkosi Mgetyengana, Thomas Elwin*
*Member of the Opera Studio Stuttgart
Staatsorchester Stuttgart
Rediscovery: First production of Niccolò Jommellis Il Vologeso
(Berenice, Queen of Armenia) for 250 years
On Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 6pm Niccolò Jommellis opera Il Vologeso (Berenice, Queen
of Armenia) will be back on an opera stage for the first time in almost 250 years. The first
performance of the work took place in 1766 in the German town of Ludwigsburg near
Stuttgart, in the then-largest opera house in Europe with a capacity of 3000 seats. At that
time Niccolò Jommelli, world-famous composer of operas and liturgical music, had already
been Court Music Conductor at the court of Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg for 13 years.
Through his work, Stuttgart had become a major venue of European opera reform. His opera
Il Vologeso is based on Apostolo Zeno's libretto Lucio Vero, which premiered at the turn of the
century 1699/1700 and became one of the most popular opera plots of the 18th century. Between 1700 and 1816 at least 80 different musical versions of the piece originated; the piece
was performed in over 100 different versions. The last performance of Il Vologeso took place
in Lisbon in the year 1769. The driving force behind the plot is Lucio Vero, co-ruler of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who on his campaign against the Parthians has fallen in love
with Berenice, Queen of Armenia. She is the bride of his presumably dead enemy Vologeso.
But Vologeso lives. And also the emperor's daughter Lucilla is not willing to abandon her claim
to the hand of her fiancé Lucio Vero.
On the occasion of Niccolò Jommelli’s (1714-1774) 300th birthday, the directors Jossi Wieler
and Sergio Morabito, the former Stuttgart Music Director Gabriele Ferro and the stage and
costume designer Anna Viebrock will work together on this new production of Il Vologeso
(Berenice, Queen of Armenia). Their last joint production for the Stuttgart Opera stage was
the award-winning revival of Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula in 2011/12.
For the main roles the ensemble members Ana Durlovski (Berenice) and Sophie Marilley
(Vologeso) as well as the tenor Sebastian Kohlhepp (Lucio Vero), a first time guest at the
Stuttgart Opera, will make their role debuts. Kammersängerin Helene Schneiderman has already sung the role of Lucilla in a concert version of the piece as well as for the CD recording
of Il Vologeso conducted by Frieder Bernius, published by Orfeo in 1998.
With the WERKRAUM JOMMELLI (February 4 to March 4 2015) the Stuttgart Opera will dedicate the second set of special Theme Days of the current season after the Rihm-Wochenende
(Rihm Weekend) in November 2014 to Niccolò Jommelli. There will be, inter alia, a public
stage orchestra rehearsal and a matinee allowing first insight into the imminent premiere of Il
Vologeso.
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