Rosa Feola joined maestro Muti for a visit to Carcere minorile di Nisida

Yesterday, on the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, Rosa Feola joined maestro Riccardo Muti using music for a good cause in a visit to Carcere minorile di Nisida, a prison for youth.

In a heart-moving post on her Facebook page, Rosa recalled some precious details and wrote 'Art and music can give hope, and I, in my own small way, hope to have given my "good example".'

Racconto di una giornata stupenda 💙

Posted by Rosa Feola on Saturday, November 24, 2018

Here's a short clip attached to her post in which Rosa and maestro presented 'A vucchella by Paolo Tosti.

Stamattina sono stata ospite, insieme al M° Riccardo Muti, del carcere minorile di Nisida (Na). L'incontro con questa realtà, che noi facciamo di tutto per dimenticare, mi ha fatto comprendere ancora di più quanto sia importante avere dei " buoni esempi " nella vita poiché nessuno nasce buono o cattivo ma lo diventa. Una gioia immensa è stato confrontarmi con due ragazze che mi hanno confessato di essere rimaste incantate dal mio "strano modo" di cantare 😋. Abbiamo chiacchierato ed ho visto in loro una luce di speranza... L'arte, la musica può dare speranza ed io, nel mio piccolo, spero di aver dato il mio "buon esempio" Grazie al M° Riccardo Muti per avermi invitato a vivere una giornata così speciale e ad ascoltare le parole che ha rivolto ai ragazzi di Nisida. Un Maestro non solo sul palco, ma nella vita. Spero non me ne voglia nessuno, era troppo bello per non essere pubblicato! 😀 La vostra 🌹
Posted by Rosa Feola on Thursday, November 22, 2018

Also presented in the event were baritone Domenico Colaianni and mezzo-soprano Francesca Russo Ermolli.

Rosa Feola to sing Dircé in “Médée” in Salzburg Festival 2019

Rosa Feola will sing the role of Dircé in Luigi Cherubini’s opera Médée in Salzburg Festival next year. The new production by Australian director Simon Stone will open on July 30 in Großes Festspielhaus, with five further performances on August 4, 7, 10, 16, 19. Thomas Hengelbrock conducts Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus. Sharing the stage will be Sonya Yoncheva (Médée), Pavel Čemoch (Jason), Vitalij Kowaljow (Créon), and Alisa Kolosova (Néris).

This will be Rosa’s role debut. Her mentor Renata Scotto has sung this role in its Italian version (Glauce in Medea) in the studio recording with Serafin and Callas in 1957.

Rosa Feola made her Salzburg debut as Inez in Mercadante’s I due Figaro under Riccardo Muti’s baton in Salzburger Pfingstfestspiele 2011, and also sang the soprano solo of Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, K. 427 inside Stiftskirche St. Peter in Salzburg Festival 2017.

For further information and tickets, visit the official website of Salzburger Festspiele.

Rosa Feola to star in a new Zeffirelli production of “Rigoletto” in 2020

According to a recent article on Il giornale della musica, Rosa Feola will star in a new production of Rigoletto by legendary director Franco Zeffirelli which will open at Royal Opera House Muscat in September 2020 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opera house. Zeffirelli himself would also be the set designer as the case of many his projects, with the help of assistant director Stefano Trespidi and assistant set designer Carlo Centolavigna. The costume designer would be Maurizio Millenotti.

The production is conceived as a collaboration between Royal Opera House Muscat, Fondazione Area di Verona, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and opera houses of Vilnius and Zagreb, with potential of additional companies join in.

Gilda in Rigoletto is a signature role of Rosa Feola. She made her role debut at Ravenna Festival in 2012, and has presented her interpretation on many world-renewed stages.

Rosa has previously performed at Royal Opera House Muscat early this year in her role debut of Ammina in La sonnambula.

Rosa Feola to join the Christmas Concert of La Scala

Rosa Feola will join the 2018 Christmas Concert of Teatro alla Scala on December 22 and 23. She will sing the soprano solo parts in Vivaldi’s O qui Coeli terraeque serenitas RV 631 and Magnificat ossecensis RV 610, as well as Mozart’s Mass in C Major K 317 (Coronation). The concert will be conducted by Diego Fasolis. Other soloists are Anna-Doris Capitelli, Elisabeth Kulman, Mauro Peter, and Gianluca Buratto. RAI Radio 3, RAI 1 and RAI 5 will broadcast the performance.

For further information and tickets, visit the official website of Teatro alla Scala.

Rosa Feola to make title role debut of "Lucia di Lammermoor" at Theater Basel

Next month, Rosa Feola is going to make her role debut of Lucia in a new production at Theater Basel. This will also be her house debut there. The director of the production is Olivier Py and in the pit will be Italian conductor and bel canto specialist Giampaolo Bisanti. Sharing the stage will be tenor Fabián Lara as Edgardo and bariton Ernesto Petti as Enrico.

Rosa will perform in the first three months of the run, on October 19, 25, 28, November 2, 6, 10, 16, 19, 24, December 1, 9, 15, 29.

In an interview last year, Rosa indicated that she felt the mad scene of Lucia di Lammermoor is a tradition overrated, but she was looking forward to making her role debut trying to have a personal edition of it.

In a recent interview given to the Theaterjournal of Theater Basel, she emphasized the importance of recitativo accompagnato in this opera. "I love the recitativo accompagnato - this almost rhythmic speaking, accompanied by the orchestra, conveys for me the feeling of the most intense drama and lets me truly feel the words I interpret. This is especially important for my forthcoming debut as Lucia, because through the recitativo accompagnato one learns most about the characters and their feelings in this opera. The part of Lucia is extremely colourfully composed - sometimes it sounds completely innocent, sometimes very frightened ... In peace with Lucia is only at rest when she seems to be enraptured, when she is in her own world. I can imagine that at the bottom of her heart she dreams of another life for herself. She almost always loses herself in daydreams, from which she only returns when she thinks of the light and the comforting feeling that Edgardo brings into her life." said Rosa.

For further information and tickets, visit the official website of Theater Basel.

Sony Classical to release a recording of Rossini's "Stabat Mater" with Rosa Feola singing soprano part

On August 10, Sony Classical will release a recording of Rossini's Stabat Mater by Münchner Rundfunkorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Howard Arman. The soloists are soprano Rosa Feola, alto Gerhild Romberger, tenor Dmitry Korchak, and bass Mika Kares.

Currently, the album can be pre-ordered on amazon.de as well as several other German websites.

It was recorded live at Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich from a concert on November 11 last year. The whole concert (also including Quattro pezzi sacri by Verdi) was video streamed live and is still available for on-demand replaying on br.de.

Rosa Feola to sing Ilia in "Idomeneo" at Opera Roma next season

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma has announced their new season. Rosa Feola will sing the role of Ilia in Mozart's opera Idomeneo, re di Creta in a new production by Robert Carsen. Sharing stage will be Charles Workman in the title role, Joel Prieto as Ilia's lover Idamante, Miah Persson as Ilia's rival Elettra, and Oliver Johnston as High Priest of Neptune. Michele Mariotti conducts.

There will be five performances scheduled on November 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 2019.

Rosa has previously sung the role at Opéra de Lille in which she was praised for her "luminous" voice, "pure", "rich" and "warm" timber, "impeccable" diction, as well as her "sincerity" and "fervor" in expression, and "complex dramaturgical sensibility"

Beginning her career in Rome, Rosa made her several early appearances in Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, including her role debut of Adina (L'elisir d'amore) in 2011 (also her house debut; and she reprise the portrayal in 2014); and her role debut of Norina (Don Pasquale) in 2013. She also sang the role of Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) in 2015, and joined the company's summer performances at Terme di Caracalla as Musetta (La bohème) in 2014 and 2015; as Micaëla (Carmen) in 2017.

For further information and tickets, visit the official website of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.

Rosa Feola to perform in Sarzana Opera Festival

It has just been announced that Rosa Feola and her husband, baritone Sergio Vitale, will join a concert titled "Scene da un matrimonio" of Sarzana Opera Festival this year. The concert taking place at Fortezza Firmafede of Sarzana (Italy) begins at 21.00 on July 2. Sharing stage with them will be another singing couple, tenor Giulio Pelligra and mezzo-soprano Simona Di Capua, as well as pianist Dragan Babic.

For further information, check the websites of Sarzana Opera Festival and Fortezza Firmafede di Sarzana.

Rosa Feola to Return to La Scala Next Season as Adina in "L'elisir d'amore"

Teatro alla Scala has just announced their 2018/19 Season. Rosa Feola will perform in Donizetti's opera L'elisir d'amore.

There will be 10 performances from September 10 to October 10, 2019, with Rosa Feola as Adina, René Barbera and Vittorio Grigolo as Nemorino, Ambrogio Maestri as Dulcamara, and Massimo Cavalletti as Belcore. Michele Gamba conducts. The staging will be a revival of Grischa Asagaroff's production.

This will be the third continuous season that Rosa appears on the roster of La Scala. Previously, she has performed in La gazza ladra (2016/17 Season, Rosa's La Scala debut) and Don Pasquale (2017/18 Season).

Rosa made her role debut of Adina in 2011 at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (also her house debut there) and most recently sung the role at Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2014.

For further information and tickets, visit the official website of Teatro alla Scala.

WFMT Radio Network to Rebroadcast "Rigoletto" from Lyric Opera of Chicago

© Todd Rosenberg

This Saturday, May 19, WFMT Radio Network will rebroadcast Rigoletto from Lyric Opera of Chicago recorded last year in which Rosa Feola made her US stage opera debut as the heroine Gilda. Her "luminous" performances won rave reactions from both audiences and critics. The program will begin at 12:00 p.m. CDT (17.00 GMT).

International listeners can access the broadcast via online streaming from WFMT.com among many other US radio stations that carry the program.

Rosa Feola to sing "Petite messe solennelle" at Festival Musica Sacra Pavia

Rosa Feola is going to sing the soprano part of Rossini's "Petite messe solennelle", along with mezzo-soprano Veronica Simeoni, tenor Francesco Meli, bass Gianluca Buratto, and Coro del Teatro alla Scala under the direction of chorus master Bruno Casoni. The work will be played in its original version accompanied by two pianos (played by Alberto Malazzi and Marco De Gaspari) and harmonium (played by Jader Costa).

The performance taking place in Basilica di San Michele Maggiore on May 19 will be the first performance of this year's Festival Musica Sacra Pavia. It is open to the public for free with the capacity of 300 people. For more information, visit the official website of Festival Musica Sacra Pavia.

Rosa has previously sung this work (also in its original version) in 2010 in Reate Festival under the baton of Michele Campanella.

"Don Pasquale" broadcast by RAI 5 TV and in cinemas

The performance of "Don Pasquale" at Teatro alla Scaa tomorrow (April 19) will be broadcast live by RAI 5 TV and in cinemas.

Rosa has won rave reviews for her portrayal of Norina in the production opened on April 3. She was praised for her secure voice, natural timber, elegant singing, tasteful musicianship, witty acting, and radiant personality. For more details of reviews (and other information regarding the production), check our archive page.

Rosa Feola will perform in "Rigoletto" and "La finta giardiniera" next season at Opernhaus Zürich

Opernhaus Zürich just announced their 2018/19 Season. Rosa Feola will sing in two productions.

First comes Gilda of Verdi's "Rigoletto", a signature role of Rosa's in which she made her house debut at Opernhaus Zürich back in 2013. She will reunion with baritone Quinn Kelsey with whom Rosa has collaborated several times in this opera. Tenor Ismael Jordi sings Duke of Mantua. Gustavo Gimeno conducts the revival of Tatjana Gürbaca's production. There will be six performances from January 17 to February 9, 2019.

Then comes another revival of Tatjana Gürbaca's production, Mozart's "La finta giardiniera". Rosa will sing Sandrina, a role she has previously sung with Glyndebourne Tour that won her rave reviews. In the pit will be Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur conducted by Gianluca Capuano. There will be six performances from February 17 to March 8, 2019.

Visit Opernhaus Zürich for further information and tickets of "Rigoletto" and "La finta giardiniera".

Rosa Feola Returns to La Scala in a New Production of "Don Pasquale"

Final dress rehearsal of the new production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale at La Scala has just finished today. The production opens on April 3, Tuesday. Rosa Feola sings the part of Norina alongside Ambrogio Maestri as the title role, René Barbera as Ernesto, and Mattia Olivieri as Malatesta. Maestro Riccardo Chailly conducts Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and Chorus. For further information and tickets, visit Teatro alla Scala.

The opening performance will be live broadcast on RAI-Radio 3 that also streaming online worldwide beginning at 20.00 local time. (Check countdown below. You may need to change your system time zone to UTC+01:00 for real live streaming on raiplayradio.it.) One can follow the synopsis [en] and libretto [it only] provided by La Scala.

The performance on April 19 will be live broadcast on RAI 5 TV and at the cinema.

As he continues the journey of presenting Italian repertoire in authentic versions, for the performance of Don Pasquale this time, M° Chailly will open all the traditional cuts using the critical edition published by Casa Ricordi being prepared by Piero Rattalino based on the autograph score.

The new production created by Davide Livermore sets the plot in Rome of 1960s with many hints taken from films of that era by Federico Fellini, Dino Risi, Mario Monicelli. The set is designed by Livermore and Giò Forma; the costume designer is Gianluca Falaschi; the lighting designer is Nicolas Bovey; and the video projection is designed by D-wok.

Having made her role debut of Norina at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (2013), Rosa has sung the part at National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing (2016) and Teatro Municipale Giuseppe Verdi in Salerno (2017) as well. Her approach of the character has been praised for the "vocal freshness" (L'Ape musicale), "intelligent management of a solid technique" (OperaClick), "[vocal] gracefulness" (Cronache Salerno), and "unparalleled communication" (Corriere del Mezzogiorno). She has also sung Norina's opening aria "Quel guardo il cavaliere" many times in concerts including the New Year's Concert in La Fenice (2017) that was broadcasted by TV RAI 1, TV RAI 5, and ARTE worldwide.

This would be the second opera Rosa sings at La Scala, after her successful house debut as Ninetta in Rossini's La gazza ladra last season.

A short introduction video with interview of M° Chailly provided by La Scala, a news video of Rai News 24 including some rehearsal footage, and some production photos (© Marco Brescia & Rudy Amisano) after the jump:

Rosa awarded "Premio speciale per la New Generation" of "Oscar della Lirica - International Opera Awards"

Fondazione Verona per l'Arena has just announced that Rosa Feola is awarded the "Premio speciale per la New Generation" (Special Award for New Generation) of the 7th "Oscar della Lirica - International Opera Awards". Congratulations!

Rosa will perform in "Il trittico" and "La bohème" next season at Bayerische Staatsoper

Bayerische Staatsoper has just announced the line-up of their 2018/19 season. Rosa Feola will participate in the performances of two productions.

She will reprise her portrayal of Lauretta in "Gianni Schicchi" which she opened the new production there this season. Sharing the stage with her for the four performances on May 25, 28, 30 and June 2, 2019 will be Ambrogio Maestri as Lauretta's father, the title role, Gianni Schicchi, and Galeano Salas as Rinuccio, Lauretta's lover. Bertrand de Billy conducts.

Also, in the revival of Otto Schenk's classical production of "La bohème", Rosa will sing the role of Musetta on June 17, 20, 23, 2019. Sharing the stage will be Ruzan Mantashyan as Mimì, Atalla Ayan as Rodolfo, and Sean Michael Plumb as Marcello. Giampaolo Bisanti conducts.

Visit Bayerische Staatsoper for further information and tickets of "Il trittico" and "La bohème".

Rosa will give a recital during the Kirker Music Festival on Lake Como

On April 21, Rosa Feola will give a recital of Italian songs and bel-canto arias as part of the Kirker Music Festival on Lake Como. Iain Burnside who has collaborated with Rosa for her performance of Rosenblatt Recital and her debut solo album Musica e Poesia will play the piano.

For further information, visit Kirker Holidays.

Rosa will perform in Mostly Mozart Festival 2018

Rosa Feola will appear in this summer's Mostly Mozart Festival in Lincoln Center on August 3 and 4. She will sing two virtuosic concert arias of Mozart inspired by the storied Czech soprano (and Mozart’s close friend) Josepha Dušek, "Ch’io mi scordi di te... Non temer, amato bene", K. 505 and "Bella mia fiamma... Resta, o cara", K. 528 for the concert on the theme of how the city of Prague and Mozart’s Czech contemporaries influenced the composer’s musical life. Sharing the stage of David Geffen Hall with her will be Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and conductor-pianist Christian Zacharias. Also in the program are Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503 and Symphony No. 38 in D major “Prague”, K. 504.

For further information and tickets, visit Mostly Mozart Festival.

Rosa will make her MET debut next season

On April 26, 2019, Rosa Feola will make her house debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as Gilda (Verdi: “Rigoletto”), a role she has won critical acclaims around the world. She will repeat it in three more performances on May 1, 4, 10. Sharing stage will be baritone George Gagnidze as the title role, tenor Bryan Hymel as Duke of Mantua, bass Dimitry Ivashchenko as Sparafucile, and mezzo-soprano Ramona Zaharia as Maddalena. Nicola Luisotti conducts.

For further information and tickets, visit The Metropolitan Opera.