Ariosto's Orlando Furioso Debuts in New York as Opera Furiosus

The opera Furiosus, inspired by Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, made its New York debut at the Kaufman Music Center. The two-act production is produced by Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, an organization founded in the 1990s to promote Italian culture abroad. The libretto, by Italian author and music therapist Flora Gagliardi, explores themes of witchcraft, seduction, secret marriages, and hidden identity from Ariosto's epic. The score was composed by Roberto Scarcella Perino, a composer and musician from Messina, who also serves as Senior Lecturer and Italian Opera professor at New York University. Perino recalled his first encounter with Orlando Furioso through Sicilian puppet theater, which inspired his musical approach. Furiosus was commissioned by the International Opera Theater of Philadelphia and premiered in 2017 at Teatro Comunale degli Avvaloranti in Città della Pieve. It was performed again in 2019 at Continuum Theater of Villa La Pietra in Florence. Perino noted that the theme of madness from love and the journey to recovery remain relevant today.