Giuliano Carella

The Arena di Verona Festival honors Italian stage director Franco Zeffirelli, and his legendary production of Turandot. Interpreted within the sumptuous surroundings of Verona Arena, this Puccini's masterpiece tells the story of a princess whose beauty was only comparable to her cruelty. She will only marry a prince capable of solving her riddles, but if he fails, he will be beheaded... For this edition, the lyrical festival invites the russian soprano Maria Guleghina who proved a brilliant Turandot. She took to the stage with Salvatore Licitra's trump card is his imposingly radiant tenor voice of wich he remains in sovereign control, and the soprano Tamar Iveri is a beautiful and sensitive Liù.

The I Solisti Veneti ensemble and trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary perform works by three masters of the Venetian Baroque, Antonio Vivaldi, Tomaso Albinoni and Alessandro Marcello, in the Hamburg St Michael's Church. At the end of the concert, Lucienne Renaudin Vary demonstrates the versatility of her instrument with two pieces by Astor Piazzolla. Chapters: - Tomaso Albinoni – Concerto for strings and basso continuo in F major - Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto in D major op. 3 no. 9, version for trumpet, strings and basso continuo - Baldassare Galuppi – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in C major - Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto for four violins, strings and basso continuo in B minor - Alessandro Marcello – Concerto for trumpet in C minor - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari – Serenade for strings - Astor Piazzolla - Tanti Anni Prima, transcription for trumpet and strings - Astor Piazzolla – Oblivion for trumpet and strings - Astor Piazzolla - Chau Paris (Zugabe)

Olympian gods and nymphs are celebrating Aurora's birth in the Vale of Tempe, crossed by the river Peneo. They praise her features in verse and song, comparing them to rivers and flowers. The text is anonymous and hints at a regal birth, probably Maria Theresa of Austria's in 1717.

NORMA tells the tragic story of a supposedly chaste druidic priestess, who is driven to murderous jealousy by her lover's inconstancy. But she forgoes vengeance, protects innocence, and sees to it that the guilty atone for their crimes. Fiorenza Cedolins, Sonia Ganassi, Vincenzo La Scola, and Andrea Papi star in this 2007 Gran Theatre Del Liceu/Grand Theatre de Geneve co-production of the Bellini opera.

Lovely but lethal, the evil Princess Turandot comes to life through the performance of Luana De Vol in this visually stunning production of Giacomo Puccini's Peking-set opera directed by Nuria Espert and conducted by Giuliano Carella. In this 2004 performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, all the subtleties of Puccini's unique tonality and unconventional instrumentation are in ample evidence.

The I Solisti Veneti ensemble and trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary perform works by three masters of the Venetian Baroque, Antonio Vivaldi, Tomaso Albinoni and Alessandro Marcello, in the Hamburg St Michael's Church. At the end of the concert, Lucienne Renaudin Vary demonstrates the versatility of her instrument with two pieces by Astor Piazzolla. Chapters: - Tomaso Albinoni – Concerto for strings and basso continuo in F major - Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto in D major op. 3 no. 9, version for trumpet, strings and basso continuo - Baldassare Galuppi – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in C major - Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto for four violins, strings and basso continuo in B minor - Alessandro Marcello – Concerto for trumpet in C minor - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari – Serenade for strings - Astor Piazzolla - Tanti Anni Prima, transcription for trumpet and strings - Astor Piazzolla – Oblivion for trumpet and strings - Astor Piazzolla - Chau Paris (Zugabe)