LA BOHÈME

Teatro Regio inaugurates with a symbolic opera 

Teatro Regio, Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 8 pm

The inauguration of the 2022 Opera and Ballet Season of Teatro Regio will be on Saturday, February 12 at 8 pm and it could only be with Giacomo Puccini's La bohème, the opera that was staged for the first time at Teatro Regio on February 1, 1896. This is a doubly symbolic choice, given that this new staging incorporates the original designs of the world premiere and that this production too was canceled a few days after its staging in March 2020, when the first lockdown was enforced.

Teatro Regio therefore reopens and can finally welcome the public to its halls, thanks to the conclusion of the first and most important part of the modifications and renovation of the theater's scenic system, works funded as part of the €8.5 million loan made available by the Ministry of Culture, and which will allow Teatro Regio, founded in 1740 and one of the oldest theaters in Europe, to become one of the most technological in the world. Work on the mechanics above Teatro Regio's stage in numbers: 27,000 hours of work for the design, construction, and installation of the new systems; 21 km of steel ropes for the scenery; 80% increase in the performance of the new machines, equipped with a driving force of 0.7 Mega Watts;  the weight of the sets that can be hung at the same time is 22.5 tons; and 75 tons of old implants were removed. The second part of the renovation will take place from June to September 2022 and includes interventions on the lower stage mechanics of the Regio stage and the restructuring of the systems and the stage and hall lights of the Piccolo Regio Puccini auditorium.

Stefano Lo Russo, Mayor of Turin and President of the Teatro Regio Foundation declared: «I am particularly happy to launch Teatro Regio's new Season in presence and with such an important opera, so appreciated by the public. Returning to the theater hall, and to the amazement that theater always gives us, is one of the strongest signs of the gradual overcoming of the health emergency. Although with the prudence that must always guide us, we have elements of hope and the start of Teatro Regio's new Season represents a sign of rebirth for everyone».

Guido Mulè, General Manager, stated: «First of all, I would like to thank Intesa Sanpaolo which, as usual, is reconfirmed as our partner for the inaugural opera, continuing its commitment with Teatro Regio in a long collaboration that has seen the Bank alongside the Theater in the creation of its productions;  and Italgas, which has chosen to support this opera right from the start in 2020. These partnerships take on a particular meaning, especially at a time when culture is a fundamental ingredient of the restart process. Our gratitude also goes to the Amici del Regio, who are constantly by our side. And finally, thanks to the City of Turin which granted its patronage for the 2022 Season».

Sebastian F. Schwarz, Artistic Director, declared, «It is truly thrilling to see La bohème return to the stage and I'm looking forward to the moment when the curtain opens and we'll hear the audience's enthusiastic applause. We have waited two years and now our work will finally have its much desired fulfillment: the curiosity and satisfaction of enjoying, live, the staging that has been recreated according to the original production 126 years ago».

«The long-awaited reopening of Teatro Regio is a good omen for the relaunching of Turin. Intesa Sanpaolo could not miss this appointment, which is both a goal and a restart for the cultural life of the city. Young people are the protagonists of this rebirth and Regio's La bohème confirms this. Intesa Sanpaolo's support for classical and opera music has never ceased, because culture is an organic element for the Bank, as it is for Italy,» commented Fabrizio Paschina, Executive Director of Communication & Image for Intesa Sanpaolo.

«Italgas and Teatro Regio of Turin represent the terms of a combination that is consolidated under the banner of the identity and culture of the city. We are pleased that this collaboration continues to be ever stronger, and that this year it will allow us to support the production of an opera appreciated all over the world; a masterpiece that returns to the same theater in which it was performed for the first time in 1896.»

«The Amici del Regio intend to be a continuous support to the activities and needs of the Theater; in fact, our latest intervention is a concrete response to the needs of the orchestra musicians, to whom we've donate 102 ergonomic chairs that will be inaugurated on the occasion of La bohème.; new equipment that will contribute to the well-being of the musicians and become a tangible sign of the strong bond created with Teatro Regio 10 years ago.»

Starting on Saturday, February 12, for 10 performances we will finally be able to see - for the first time live - La bohème in the new staging created by the Teatro Regio, which combines the direction  by Paolo Gavazzeni and Piero Maranghi, with sets and costumes taken from the original sketches and figurines made by Adolf Hohenstein, designed for the world premiere in Turin in 1896 and kept by the Ricordi Historical Archive in Milan. Rehearsals for this new production stopped in March 2020, when the pandemic forced us to lockdown; the opera was then presented on video in January 2021, when it was broadcast by Classica-HD, and in streaming on the Regio website. Maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts the Orchestra, the Chorus, and the Children's Chorus of Teatro Regio. The cast features young voices, very suitable for their role, such as those of Maritina Tampakopoulos (Mimì), Valentin Dytiuk (Rodolfo), Valentina Mastrangelo (Musetta), and Biagio Pizzuti (Marcello). The cast is completed by: Vincenzo Nizzardo  (Schaunard), Riccardo Fassi (Colline), and Matteo Peirone (Benoît and Alcindoro). Sets and scenery are curated by Leila Fteita, costumes are curated by Nicoletta Ceccolini, and the scenic painting is by Rinaldo Rinaldi. During the  ten performances, from February 12 - 27, alternating in the main roles will be: Francesca Sassu (Mimì), Matteo Lippi (Rodolfo), Cristin Arsenova (Musetta), Ilya Kutyukhin (Marcello), Jan Antem (Schaunard), Bozhidar Bozhkilov (Colline), Sabino Gaita/Alejandro Escobar (Parpignol), Desaret Lika/Riccardo Mattiotto (Sergeant of the customs officers), Marco Tognozzi/Marco Sportelli (a customs officer). Maestro Giulio Laguzzi will replace Maestro Morandi on the podium Wednesday, Feb. 23 and Friday, Feb. 25. The Choruses are instructed respectively by Maestro Andrea Secchi and Maestro Claudio Fenoglio. 

Pier Giorgio Morandi returns to direct the artistic teams of Teatro Regio after his experience with  Madama Butterfly at the Regio Opera Festival. Morandi has a vast operatic repertoire to his credit and is a regular guest conductor in the most important Italian and international theaters; also an esteemed interpreter of the symphonic repertoire, he has numerous recordings with Sony to his credit. 

Maritina Tampakopoulos took part in the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program of the Juilliard School in New York. Graduating with honors in Music in 2014 at the Greek National Conservatory, she specialized in Vienna with Glenys Linos and James Pearson at the Wiener Staatsoper, won several international awards, and made her debut in the summer of 2021 at the Macerata Opera Festival in its production of Aida; among her next commitments: Hélène in Les Vêpres siciliennes (Teatro Massimo in Palermo), her debut in the role of Elisabetta di Valois in Don Carlo (Breslau) and Aida (National Opera of Prague). The principal artist at the National Opera of Ukraine, Valentín Dytiuk graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy in Kiev and later specialized at the Kiev Academy with Marina Shaguch, Massimiliano Bullo, and Raimundas Banionis. He has already trod the main Italian and international stages, competing with important roles: Rodolfo in La bohème (Verdi Theater in Salerno) and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Teatro Filarmonico in Verona), Vaudemont in Iolanta by Čajkovskij (Palau de les Arts in Valencia), Riccardo/Gustavo in A Masked Ball (Tel Aviv Opera). Valentina Mastrangelo graduated with honors in singing from the Martucci Conservatory in Salerno, and then specialized with Mariella Devia. In 2013 she attended the Rossiniana Academy in Pesaro and was chosen to debut in the role of Madama Cortese in Il Viaggio a Reims at the ROF. She has numerous affirmations in prestigious international competitions: she was the winner of the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the AsLiCo Competition; she also won the First Prize at the 5th Anita Cerquetti International Competition in 2015, the Best Italian Voice Award at the 2015 Portofino International Competition, and at the XXI Spazio Musica International Competition in Orvieto she won the role of Musetta in La bohéme. Biagio Pizzuti is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most important and sought after Italian baritone voices. Graduating with full marks, he specialized with Aldo Ciccolini, Walter Alberti, Renato Bruson, and Cinzia Forte. He recently took part in Damiano Michieletto's production of Il viaggio a Reims in Amsterdam under the direction of Stefano Montanari, and sang the role of Schaunard in La bohème at Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

«Bohème does not leave much of an impression on the soul of the listeners, it will not leave much of a trace in the history of our opera house». Thus wrote Carlo Bersezio on the pages of La Stampa newspaper the day after February 1, 1896, when, at the Teatro Regio in Turin with a twenty-nine year old Arturo Toscanini conducting the Orchestra, the opera that would mark the career of its author and the history of music forever was staged for the first time: La bohème by Giacomo Puccini. Despite the mistrust of the music critics of the time, it was the audience who decreed the beginning of a success that still shows no signs of diminishing and sees the opera regularly appearing in the top five of those most represented in the world. The ingredients that have made its so loved, in addition to Puccini's musical genius, are the vividness of the protagonists, artists and bohemian students in Paris in 1830, and their "gay and terrible life" described by Henri Murger in his famous novel. Thus it is also in the paintings depicted by Puccini's pen and the verses by Giacosa and Illica, in which the crudeness of poverty and illness are intertwined with the freshness and irony of youth; a carefree age in which Mimi’s end marks a poignant farewell. More than a century later, not just the music and libretto, but also the famous poster, the Art-Nouveau-inspired scenes and sketches created by poster designer and scenographer Adolf Hohenstein for the premiere in 1896, currently kept by the Ricordi Historical Archive, have entered the collective imagination of audience members all over the world. The new staging that will be performed at Regio, directed by the artistic duo Gavazzeni – Maranghi, is entirely inspired by the original staging created by Hohenstein's pencil; this is an unmissable opportunity to relive Bohème as Puccini saw it.  

We thank the Public Green - City of Turin which takes care of the floral arrangement in the foyers and the Galleria Tamagno of Regio on the occasion of La bohème.  

 The Regio Conferences will also resume with the 2022 Season: these are meetings about opera and ballet for further insight into the Season's productions. Why does a melody move us? What does the composer want to tell us with that particular music? Whether we know everything or very little, opera and ballet are like the great classics of literature: there is always something to discover. Once we have been guided by the expert hands of journalists and musicologists, and in contact with the artists and creators of the shows, going to the theater will never be the same: we will like it (even) more. On Wednesday, February 9 at 5.30 pm in the “Sala Caminetto” at Regio, the journalist Oreste Bossini will hold the conference on La bohème entitled “The beaver and the cymar: Puccini's nouvelle vague”. Admission is free, but to enter, it is necessary to register by purchasing tickets on the Teatro Regio website.  

IMPORTANT: please note that entry to entertainment venues is allowed only to people with the reinforced Green Pass that certifies vaccination against Covid-19 or recovery from Covid-19, and that it is mandatory to wear an FFP2 mask (or class of superior protection), even during the show; the use of surgical or community masks is not allowed.

Tickets and cards are on sale at the Teatro Regio Box Office, piazza Castello 215 - Tel. 011.8815.241/242 and at Vivaticket points of sale, online at www.teatroregio.torino.it. Ticket prices: performance on February 12 €160 - 125 - 105 - 80 – 55; performance on February 25 €60 - 55 - 50 - 45 - 30; all other performances € 90 - 80 - 70 - 65 - 30. Tickets reduced by 20% for those aged under 30,  and 10% for groups of at least 20 people (excluding the performance on February 25) and for 2022 Season Subscribers. The cards give you the right to choose a seat in any sector and can also be used by several people for the same show (excluding the performance on February 12). For the purchase of tickets and cards, it is possible to use the vouchers obtained as a refund for the shows and concerts of 2019-20 Season canceled due to Covid-19. 
Reduced tickets and dedicated activities are available for school audiences. For information and reservations: scuolallopera@teatroregio.torino.it. 
Ticket Office hours: from Monday to Saturday, 1 pm - 6:30 pm; Sunday 10 am - 12 pm; and an hour before the shows. We only accept payments by credit cards, debit cards and Satispay, cash payments are not allowed.
Information service: Monday to Friday 9 am-5:30pm - Tel. 011.8815.557 -    info@teatroregio.torino.it.
For all information: www.teatroregio.torino.it.

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Turin, February 7, 2022