- Maestro Christian Badea, with an impressive career in the most important opera theatres of the world, such as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Sydney Opera or Teatro Colón, conducts for the first time at Bucharest National Opera.
- The three soloists: Arsen Soghomonyan, Hrachuhí Bassénz and Vladislav Sulimsky, invited in the leading roles, represent the new wave of the world’s top opera singers.
- Tickets (starting from 25 RON) can be purchased online or at the box office of Bucharest National Opera.
Bucharest, May 18, 2022
Bucharest National Opera (BNO) presents Otello by Giuseppe Verdi, in two extraordinary performances, on June 8 and 11, 2022.
It is the first time that a series of performances at the BNO benefit from the presence of a quartet of exceptional artists invited to Bucharest.
In the title role is invited the tenor Arsen Soghomonyan, with the soprano Hrachuhí Bassénz as his Desdemona, while Iago will be played by the baritone Vladislav Sulimsky,in a production signed by Giancarlo del Monaco.
Christian Badea has directed hundreds of performaces in the main opera houses on all continents, throughout a career that continues after four decades. At the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Sydney Opera or Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, his vast repertoire of more than 100 titles from Gluck and Mozart to Shostakovich and Barber focuses on the great masterpieces composed by Verdi, Puccini or Wagner. Otello has often been part of this repertoire, for which he has always received acclaim from the public and the press.
The three soloists invited for the leading roles represent the new wave of the world’s top opera singers.
Arsen Soghomonyan (Otello) has a well-established reputation in the spinto-dramatic tenor repertoire at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper München or Berliner Philharmoniker. He made his Covent Garden debut as Don José of Carmen, soon to take on the role of Otello, which he sang in concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Zubin Mehta, a role that became his vocal signature. Arsen Soghomonyan comes to Bucharest immediately after a series of Otello at the Bayerische Staatsoper München.
Hrachuhí Bassénz (Desdemona) made her debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London with Adriana Lecouvreur, followed by Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Amelia Grimaldi in Simon Boccanegra. The presence of the soprano in Bucharest is followed by a series of performances in the role of Desdemona from Otello, which she will sing next month again at Covent Garden.
Vladislav Sulimsky (Iago) comes to Bucharest after a series of very successful shows with the Queen of Spades at the Baden Baden Festival, with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Kirill Petrenko. After his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper München in 2019, as Count di Luna in Il trovatore, and the series of Otello at the Wiener Staatsoper, he is regarded as one of the most important Verdi baritones on the international stage. After the performances in Bucharest, Sulimsky will make his debut at the Opéra de Paris and the Concertgebouw.
The cast is completed by Mihaela Ișpan (Emilia), Liviu Indricău (Cassio), Andrei Lazăr (Roderigo), Filip Panait (Lodovico) and Iustinian Zetea (Montano), together with Bucharest National Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Tickets (starting from 25 RON) can be purchased online from tickets.operanb.ro or at the box office of the Bucharest National Opera:
- tel.: (+40) 743.278.335/(+40) 21.310.26.61 or
(+40) 21.314.69.80, int. 2188.- email: bilete@operanb.ro
Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 6:30 pm
Saturday, June 11, 2022, 6:30 pm
Giuseppe Verdi: Otello
Libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Othello by William Shakespeare
Conductor: Christian Badea
Otello: Arsen Soghomonyan
Desdemona: Hrachuhí Bassénz
Iago: Vladislav Sulimsky
Emilia: Mihaela Ișpan
Cassio: Liviu Indricău
Roderigo: Andrei Lazăr
Lodovico: Filip Panait
Montano: Iustinian Zetea
Orchestra and Chorus of the Bucharest National Opera (chorus master: Daniel Jinga)
Direction, set design and lighting: Giancarlo del Monaco
Costumes: Stella del Monaco, costume assistant: Ricardo Coelho
Direction assistant and revival supervision for 2021/2022: Alex Nagy
