Ancona's Teatro delle Muse commissions two choreographers to direct operas
For the first time in Italy, a theater has commissioned choreographers to direct operas. The Teatro delle Muse in Ancona, in partnership with Marche Teatro, has invited Luca Silvestrini and Francesca Lattuada to stage Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and La Tragédie de Carmen respectively for the 21st opera season. Artistic directors Velia Papa and Vincenzo De Vivo aim to bring a multidisciplinary approach, integrating dance and physicality into opera. Silvestrini's vision for Die Zauberflöte focuses on storytelling through essential space and character expression, while Lattuada's La Tragédie de Carmen incorporates contortionists to embody the mythic heroine. The productions are seen as a bold move against traditionalist critics, following European precedents like Sasha Waltz's 2005 Dido and Aeneas and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Alceste at Rome's Teatro dell'Opera in 2022.
Key facts
- Teatro delle Muse in Ancona commissions two choreographers to direct operas for the first time in Italy.
- Luca Silvestrini directs Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with musical direction by Giuseppe Montesano.
- Francesca Lattuada stages La Tragédie de Carmen, adapted from Bizet and Merimée by Marius Constant, Jean-Claude Carrière, and Peter Brook, with Natalia Salinas conducting.
- Artistic directors Velia Papa (Marche Teatro) and Vincenzo De Vivo (Teatro delle Muse) spearhead the initiative.
- The project is part of the 21st opera season at Teatro delle Muse.
- European precedents include Sasha Waltz's 2005 Dido and Aeneas and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Alceste at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in 2022.
- Lattuada's production features two contortionists embodying aspects of Carmen.
- Silvestrini aims to make Die Zauberflöte accessible to a wide audience through essential staging.
Entities
Artists
- Luca Silvestrini
- Francesca Lattuada
- Giuseppe Montesano
- Natalia Salinas
- Velia Papa
- Vincenzo De Vivo
- Sasha Waltz
- Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
- Marius Constant
- Jean-Claude Carrière
- Peter Brook
- Georges Bizet
- Prosper Mérimée
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Laura Bevione
Institutions
- Teatro delle Muse
- Marche Teatro
- Ministero della Cultura
- Bayerische Staatsoper
- Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
- Artribune
Locations
- Ancona
- Italy
- Rome
- Germany