Puccini Gala

Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov return to Ljubljana, continuing their stage collaboration. The Russian- born Austrian soprano, who trained at the St Petersburg Conservatory, made her debut at the age of 22 in Mariinsky Theatre. An exclusive artist for Deutsche Grammophon since 2003, she is today one of the foremost and most distinguished figures in classical music. The Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov, who trained in Italy and in 2007 was named a People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, was recently appointed director of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. They will be joined by the South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, who sang at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the French baritone Jérôme Boutillier, who won second prize at the 2019 Paris Opera Competition, and the Russian conductor Denis Vlasenko, an acclaimed interpreter of both symphony and opera. The evening will be dedicated to the art of the Late Romantic opera composer Giacomo Puccini, considered the true successor to Giuseppe Verdi. Puccini drew creative inspiration above all from the excesses of literary naturalism and the music of Richard Wagner. The programme consists of popular highlights from his operas Turandot, Manon Lescaut, La bohème, Edgar, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. At the heart of these tragic works lie the themes of fateful love, suffering and death, which the composer combines with magnificently orchestrated music and an incomparable sense of drama. The result is an emotionally powerful, deeply moving and, above all, unique listening experience.