Sebastian Catana: “Me and Nabucco? Similar because they are fathers”

“Me and Nabucco? It’s hard to say what we have in common, but we’re both fathers and that’s why I feel close to him”. Word of Sebastian Catana, Romanian baritone, among the most appreciated in the world of opera, mainly for his interpretations of Verdi’s roles, which made him one of the most requested of his generation. After the success as Alfio / Tonio in the verist diptych ‘Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci’, Catana is preparing to return to the Verona Arena playing two kings: Nabucodonosor in ‘Nabucco’ directed by Daniel Oren on July 1st and then, two days later, it will be Amonasro in ‘Aida’. “Nabucco – says Catana to AdnKronos – is the all-round Verdian father. You feel that warmth typical of the Verdi fathers, like Rigoletto, especially in the duet with Abigaille. I am a father and I feel I have something in common, even if Nabucco he is a very hard man, who does horrendous things. We are similar in being both fathers. ” Next to him the Abigaille of the debutante Ewa Plonka, the Zaccaria of Abramo Rosalen, the Fenena of Francesca Di Sauro and the Ismaele of Samuele Simoncini. The show, by Arnaud Bernard, transports the biblical-historical events of the Babylonian exile in the Milan of the Five Days of March 1848, where the Habsburg oppressors clash with the insurgents in the shadow of the Scala, in the days preceding the world premiere of ‘ Nabucco ‘: a metateatral game, which requires high-level acting qualities from the performers. “In Verona it will be a non-traditional production, Verdi’s era is staged – underlines Catana -. For me Nabucco is very special, he is the character I sang the most and Giuseppe Verdi’s first great success. fantastic role, I really like these non-linear characters: at the end of the work there is a great transformation in him, and he is also very interesting from an actor point of view. It is a very beautiful role and in line with all the characters of Verdi baritones such as Rigoletto, Macbeth, Falstaff “. On July 3 and 24, August 21 and 28, Catana will play another king, Amonasro, in the symbolic opera of the Verona Arena, ‘Aida’, in the iconic show by Zeffirelli. “It’s a beautiful production, very traditional – he observes -. Compared to ‘Nabucco’ my role is a bit different, shorter but very intense. Amonasro is a warrior, a father but he has a very complicated relationship with his daughter. And ‘a bit hard, a beautiful role but different from other Verdi characters “. On the podium the baritone will find the stainless guide of Oren for the first performance and the two performances in August, while in the performance on July 24 the direction will be entrusted to the musical director of the festival, Marco Armiliato. “I love Verdi’s music very much – admits Catana – I studied it at the Conservatory, I came to Italy especially for Verdi and for Italian music. I sang almost all of Verdi’s roles, I miss a few to complete the repertoire”. After Verona, the baritone, fresh from his happy debut at the Colòn in Buenos Aires as Nabucco, will subsequently be engaged as Giorgio Germont in a new production of ‘La Traviata’ at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, then ‘Rigoletto’ at the Lithuanian National Opera in Vilnius. , then ‘Falstaff’ at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo under the direction of maestro Myung-whun Chung.