News of some opera productions - none of them with Philippe (hélas!
) but interesting nonetheless.
In May 2014 the Opéra National de Lorraine (Nancy) will be putting on a production of "La Clemenza di Tito" with Franco Fagioli as Sesto and Yurij Minenko as Annio. Both of these rôles are such entrenched "mezzos-in-pants" territory that I'm really curious to see what they make of it. A male Sesto is not unknown - Valer Barna Sabadus and others have already sung it on stage, I think - but this is the first time that I can recall that both rôles will be sung on stage by countertenors (please correct me if I'm wrong). I feel a bit sorry for Franco as my favourite Sesto (Sarah Connolly) will be a hard act to follow, I think ...
And for those of us badly in need of a fix of feathers and bling,
the Opéra Royal de Versailles is staging "Artaserse" again next March - without Philippe (his rôle will be taken by Vince Yi) but the rest of the cast will be the same.
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