Festival di Puccini 2018

64th Edition Programme

From 06 July 2018 to 25 August 2018

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The splendid setting of Torre del Lago will host one of the most anticipated opera events in Italy: from July 6th to August 25th, don’t miss the Puccini Festival 2018... tickets are already on sale!

Born in 1930, this musical event, the only one to be entirely dedicated to the great Tuscan composer, over the years has become one of the most acclaimed events by lovers of opera who every year come from all over Italy to enjoy the impressive show at Teatro dei Quattromila, on the shore of Lake Massaciuccoli.

Let’s not waste time and jump right into the 2018 Festival Puccini program to choose which opera in Torre del Lago will give a magic touch to your summer. Are you ready to dive into the rich list of the Puccini Festival cast?

FESTIVAL PUCCINI PROGRAM 2018

• Opening Concert - July 6th 2018 

The Torre del Lago Puccini Festival in 2018 will open with a very special evening dedicated to a work that Puccini wrote on the occasion of his Diploma at the Pacini Music Institute in Lucca. The 'Messa di Gloria' by Puccini, a four-part orchestra and chorus composition with tenor and baritone soloists, was first performed in 1880. Andrea Bocelli will sing at the Puccini Opera Festival 2018 and mesmerize the audience with his splendid voice. Along with him, on stage there will be other 90 singers such as the baritone Gianfranco Montresor, George Andguladze, Ivana Canovic, Martina Serafin. The director is Master Carlo Bernini.

• Turandot - July 14th, 21st and 28th and August 17th 

The leading singer of Turandot at the Puccini Festival is the soprano of Austrian origin Martina Serafini, one of the most important performers of the great Maestro of Torre del Lago, under the direction of the conductor Alfonso Signorini. She will play the role of prince Calaf Amadi Lagh, while for the role of Liu', Lana Kos and Bing Bing Wan will take turns. The Tartar king Timur will be played by Alessandro Guerzoni and George Andguladze. Directing the fantastic cast of the Turandot of Torre del Lago Puccini there will be the president of the foundation: Maestro Alberto Veronisi. The orchestra conductor will take turns with Carla Tolomeo. At Torre del Lago 2018, it was also the occasion of a co-production with Georgia and in particular with Teatro di Tbilisi thanks to which on July 28th the stage of Gran Teatro Giacomo Puccini Torre del Lago will be taken over by the choir, the orchestra and the soloists from Georgia.

• Madama Butterfly – July 20th, August 10th and 18th 

Madama Butterfly with its fantastic oriental atmosphere is another unmissable event of the program of Festival Puccini 2018. In the role of Cho Cho San, the soprano Amarilli Nizza will enchant the audience with her great technique but also with her wonderful interpretation. In some of the replicas, for which we advise you to directly consult the site of the event, in the same role will perform Hiromi Omura, who will give the audience strong emotions combined with a truly beautiful voice. In the cast, directed by Hirofumi Yoshida, other big names such as Hector Lopez Mendoza and Giorgi Cukovski (Pinkerton) Rossana Rinaldi and Patrizia Porzio (Suzuki) and many others.

• Tosca - July 15th, August 4th and 12th 

La Tosca by Puccini in Torre del Lago will be staged in an interpretation that is directed by Giancarlo del Monaco, son of the famous tenor Mario del Monaco. Alberto Veronesi, conductor and president of the society behind the organization of the event, promised that Tosca di Torre del Lago would give a psychological, almost psychiatric view of the characters. In the role of Tosca, directed by Pedro Halffter and Dejan Savic, Hui He and Paoletta Marrocu will take turns. The role of Cavaradossi will see another great presence of this edition of the festival: the tenor Murat Kahran. On August 4th, performing this classic Puccini piece will be the guests of the Theatre of Tbilisi, with yet another excellent Festival Puccini cast, promising an unforgettable opera evening at Lake Puccini!

• Manon Lescaut - July 26th 

Torre del Lago Festival 2018 will present a "semi-sync" version of this work, that is, one with only costumes and some props but with none of the scenography of Manon Lescaut by Puccini. The conductor Gianluca Martinenghi will direct the orchestra, choir and soloists from the Theater of Tbilisi.

• La Bohème – July 27th, August 3rd 

The Boheme of Torre del Lago staged this year on the occasion of the 64th edition of the Festival is a new production that is the result of the collaboration with the Georgian theater. The Orchestra, the choir and the soloists of the Tbilisi Theater will be directed by Alberto Veronesi at this Puccini Festival in a version directed by Alfonso Signorini

• Il Trittico – August 11th and 25th 

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary from the first performance, the Gran Teatro of Torre del Lago calendar will also include the Puccini triptych, composed of Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. The setting of the play is the Budapest State Opera and the conductor is Tiberiu Soare.

• Il convitato di Pietra – August 24th 

It is the only non-Puccini opera scheduled at the Puccini Festival 2018 Torre del Lago and is part of a project born to pay tribute to its composer: the musician from Viareggio, Giovanni Pacini, last great love of Pauline Bonaparte. Therefore, the choice to represent this work at Villa Paolina of Viareggio isn’t just a logistic one.

So, have you taken note of everything? All you have to do now is contact the ticket office of the 2018 Puccini Festival and grab a seat in the fantastic theater. And you won’t even have to worry about transport: reaching the Puccini Festival is easy, there are shuttle buses that leave from all the major beach resorts in the area and upon request also from Lucca. Surely the most suggestive and romantic solution, the one that will take you immediately in the magic of the evening is to arrive by boat. Take a look at the event website for all the relevant information.

In short, there are no excuses: from July 6th to August 25th you absolutely must find a way to watch an opera by Puccini in Torre del Lago! Start by booking for example one of our hotels in Lucca... and since you will have time before the evening events, take a look at our suggestions on how to discover Tuscany in our section tours and activities. Any suggestions? There are several excursions from the port of Livorno, or for example: Florence, Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano. Not bad right?