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An opera Adriana Lecouvreur laying in purple pool of water with flowers around her.

Adriana Lecouvreur

20 February - 7 March 2023

In the Joan Sutherland Theatre

Opera Australia

Opera

Steamy, seductive, and more than a little dangerous, Adriana Lecouvreur sets the scene for a hot-blooded love triangle that can only end in heartbreak.

The operatic equivalent of Sunset Boulevard

The Guardian

Lovers’ liaisons don’t come any more dangerous than this

She’s a superstar. Adored by all. She can have any man she chooses. Or can she?

Based on a true story, Adriana Lecouvreur is renowned as “the operatic equivalent of Sunset Boulevard” (The Guardian). Ermonela Jaho, “the world’s most acclaimed soprano” (The Economist), blazes in a role that calls for a pure diva.

This is a tryst with a twist. A tumultuous real life entanglement is a love triangle ripe for operatic excess: the stellar actress, her aristocrat admirer, and his jealous ex who just happens to be Adriana’s greatest rival. Lashings of secrets, pungent violets, and composer Francesco Ciléa’s seductive score make this a high verismo drama.

From Montserrat Caballé and Joan Sutherland to Anna Netrebko, prima donnas of every era have aspired to sing Adriana. Ermonela’s voice of a ‘fiery angel’ meets its match in Carmen Topciu’s smouldering mezzo as the Princess.

Tensions between the two simmer then explode over the attention of Count Maurizio, played by opera’s “high-flying leading man” (Vanity Fair), Michael Fabiano. Baritone Giorgio Caoduro adds depth to the potent mix as Michonnet, Adriana’s doting stage director.

Opera’s definitive statement on celebrity scandals brims with passion and peril. Inventive Italian director Rosetta Cucchi takes this salacious tale from the repertoire’s shadows to the limelight – where Adriana Lecouvreur rightfully belongs.

Presented by Opera Australia

Trailer

Artist Information

CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor Renato Palumbo
Director Rosetta Cucchi
Set Designer Tiziano Santi
Costume Designer Claudia Pernigotti
Lighting Designer Daniele Naldi
Choreographer Luisa Baldinetti
Videomaker Roberto Recchia

CAST
Adriana
 Ermonela Jaho
The Principessa Carmen Topciu
Maurizio Michael Fabiano
Michonnet Giorgio Caoduro
The Abbé Virgilio Marino
The Prince Richard Anderson
Quinault Anthony Mackey
Poisson Adam Player
Mlle Jouvenot Jane Ede
Mlle Dangeville Angela Hogan
Major-Domo Benjamin Rasheed

Opera Australia Orchestra
Opera Australia Chorus

Other information

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