Opera Roma, Michele Mariotti: “Theater is a mirror of the reality in which we live”

“We want to give back to the theater its identity, its cultural mission and to ensure that we artists can reacquire our duty as witnesses and prophets”. Thus the new musical director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Michele Mariotti, explains to Adnkronos his goal for the new position he will take on starting from November 2022, speaking of “very high personal motivations. The first thing he did not give me not too long to reflect and accept the job – explains Mariotti – it is the conviction of the sense of team, starting from the management up to the technical-artistic part of Costanzi, which leads us to outline a common path “. Mariotti, in the statement accompanying the communiqué of his appointment, has already said he wanted to reflect on our present through opera titles that tell the passions and feelings that animate many of the violence reported today in the news. “The theater cannot be disconnected from the reality in which it is immersed – observes the master from the Marches – the reality in which we live changes us, conditions us and the theater must become its most faithful mirror. In fact, the titles chosen for my Roman journey speak of this reality, from Poulenc’s ‘Dialogues des Carmélites’, where political fanaticism is told, to stories of oppression such as Puccini’s ‘Suor Angelica’, ‘The castle of Duke Bluebeard’ by Bartók and ‘The prisoner’ by Dallapiccola. also fun, irony and joie de vivre, as suggested by Ravel’s ‘Heure espagnole’ or ‘Gianni Schicchi’ by Puccini “. In short, in the choices of the next billboards “the international filter will be very evident as well as the presence of the so-called repertoire, from Puccini and Verdi to the Italian 900, up to the German theater of Wagner and Strauss and to new specially commissioned compositions that speak to us of our world. We want to give back to the theater its cultural identity which is not entertaining or pleasing with the known, but making people reflect, think or even irritate and upset. The theater must move strong sensations, which is what opera has always done. to faithfully reflect our world, this is the mission of the theater “, explains Mariotti, underlining that his goal as musical director of the Opera di Roma” is to direct three titles a year in addition, obviously, to the contingencies that may occur “. The book of commitments of Michele Mariotti was very crowded and from now to November he will return to the podium of the Opera di Roma for Verdi’s ‘Luisa Miller’ which was in concert form (due to the restrictions of the pandemic, ed) and finally, with great joy because it is a wonderful and very little performed work, it will return to stage form. Now I’m in Bologna because on the 21st for the Music Day I will do a concert at the Comunale. Then in September in Vienna for the new production of the ‘Barbiere di Siviglia’ and in October at the Parma Festival for the ‘Simon Boccanegra’, then some symphonic concerts in Europe, and the inauguration of the San Carlo in Naples with ‘Otello’. After having made his debut in ‘Falstaff’ last December at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich – he concludes – I can say that for me this is the year of Verdi’s maturity “.