Opera in a prologue and three acts by Pietro Mascagni Libretto by Luigi Illica Fully-Staged Production Sung in Italian with English surtitles
First Performance
Italy, 1901 Teatro alla Scala, Milan Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa Teatro Regio, Turin Teatro Costanzi, Rome Teatro La Fenice, Venice Teatro Filarmonico, Verona
Background
It’s Mascagni’s homage to Rossini and to the Italian opera buffa and commedia dell’arte traditions. It was premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses but, apart from Rome, the reception was subdued. While it has often been held that Mascagni was a ‘one opera man’ who could never repeat the success of Cavalleria rusticana, this verdict has already been debunked by Wexford’s four previous Mascagni productions, most recently Guglielmo Ratcliff in 2015.
Lavinia Bini, a distinguished graduate of the Conservatorio Cherubini in Florence, marked her debut as Despina in 'Così Fan Tutte' in Rome, followed by engagements across prestigious venues like La Scala in Milan and the Verona Arena. Notable performances include Mimì in 'La Boheme' at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and appearances in concerts and operas internationally. Upcoming plans feature roles in 'Don Pasquale' in Tokyo and 'Le Maschere' at the Wexford Opera Festival.
A graduate of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles with top honors, the French-Swiss tenor Benoît-Joseph Meier debuted in 2015 with Rossini's 'Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra.' He's since impressed in varied roles, including Pelleas in a children's adaptation of Debussy's opera. Notable achievements include performances at the Opéra de Rouen and collaborations with renowned ensembles. With upcoming projects like 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail,' at the Opéra of Saint Etienne.
A talented Romanian-Irish soprano, Ioana has graced the stage of Wexford Festival Opera in notable roles like Fenitchka in 'Risurezzione' and Michelina in 'Il Bravo.' Her repertoire also includes acclaimed performances as Pamina in 'The Magic Flute' and Vixen in 'The Cunning Little Vixen.' Ioana has showcased her vocal prowess as a soloist in various prestigious venues, including the National Concert Hall Dublin and Ulster Hall Belfast. She is set to make her debut as Contessa Almaviva in 'Le Nozze di Figaro' at the Romanian National Opera Cluj.
As a winner of 71st AsLiCo International Singing Competition, tenor Gillen Munguia debuted the title role of Werther in Como. Other roles already debuted are Alfredo in La traviata (Tenerife), Rodolfo in La bohème (Vilnius), Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Bologna), Rafael in El Gato Montés (Oviedo), Nemorino in L´elisir d´amore (South Korea), Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.
Matteo Mancini, a baritone from Pesaro, began his musical education at the Liceo Musicale "Guglielmo Marconi," excelling in opera singing and classical guitar. After graduating with top marks, he pursued further studies at the "Luigi Cherubini" Conservatory of Music in Florence. In 2022, Matteo debuted as Blasio in Antonio Salieri's 'La scuola de' gelosi' at the Festival della Valle d'Itria. He continued his training at the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where he participated in productions under renowned conductors and directors. During the summer of 2023, he debuted as Don Alvaro in Rossini's 'Il viaggio a Reims' at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.
Rory is an old known of WFO, where he performed several times. He recently made his UK Operatic debut singing the title role of Eugene (Eugene Onegin, Holland Park). In 2019 made his international operatic debut singing Young Kelvin (Solaris by Dai Fugikura -Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre). He will sing the four villain roles (Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Vilnius).
American tenor Andrew Morstein, winner of “Best Male Newcomer” at the Österreichischer MusikTheater Preis Awards in Vienna and praised for his “vocal virtuosity” (Olyrix) is a graduate of the Junges Ensemble Theater (JET) with Theater an der Wien. This season, Andrew sings Almaviva in The Barber of Seville at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, with Pensacola Opera as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. He previously appeared with the Wexford Festival Opera as Serge in L’aube rouge (2023).
Peter is the resident Company Actor. He appeared in many productions and Pop-Up events since 2020. He is a graduate of the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in the UK and the American College, Dublin, where he holds the position of the head of the acting department. As a musician, Peter plays as a drummer and backing vocalist.
Born in Monfalcone, Italy, Giorgio Caoduro is one of the most interesting and celebrated Italian baritones of his generation and one of the reigning Bel Canto singers of today.
He is the recipient of the 2012 Australian Green Room Award for the best Opera singer of the year.
Giorgio’s Rossini solo album “The Art of Virtuoso Baritone” issued in 2021 on Glossa has been highly acclaimed in the international press.
The young Bass-Baritone Mariano Orozco was born in Argentina. Currently he dedicates himself exclusively to studying in Italy with M° Antonio Lemmo. In 2018 he made his debut at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli in the “Die Zauberflöte” by W. A. Mozart. Then he began his career by participating in prestigious contexts such as ROF, Teatro di Novara, Luglio Musicale Trapanese, ROHM, Staatsoper Augsburg and many others.
As well as being Principal Guest Conductor at Wexford Festival Opera, Francesco appears regularly with major orchestras and opera houses across Europe, Israel, and the USA. He has conducted Turandot (Mainz), Tosca (Klosterneuburg), Manon Lescaut (Bari) and eight productions at Wexford, including La ciociara, the Double Bill L'oracolo/Mala vita, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Risurrezione, Edmea and La tempesta, earning widespread acclaim for his dynamic interpretations of classic and contemporary operatic works. Upcoming engagements include The Turn of the Screw (Pisa) in 2026.
Director and author, Stefano Ricci trained at the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica Silvio d’Amico in Rome. He directed Puccini’s Turandot at the Macerata Opera Festival (award Abbiati 2018), Bluebeard’s Castle by Bartók and Die glückliche Hand by Schoenberg at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Verdi’s Nabucco at the Teatro Regio in Parma and Marino Faliero by Gaetano Donizetti in Bergamo. Since 2021 he has been artistic director of the Theater sector at the Venice Biennale.
Stellario Di Blasi is an Italian artist with a background in contemporary dance, both as a performer and as a choreographer, as well as in the visual arts and in Fashion Film Direction.
His work was presented in Biennale Di Venezia - site specific performance 2021, in Uffizi Galleries 2018, as well as in many Italian Dance and Theater Festival.
Since 1994, Daniele has been Head of Lighting and Lighting Designer for the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Among his many productions in Italy and around the world are Il trovatore, Rigoletto and La traviata (Maggio Musicale), Carmen (Rome), Lohengrin (Bilbao), Jérusalem (Zurich) and La fille du régiment (Tel Aviv).
Born in Noci (Bari) in 1981, Liliana Laera graduated in Dams Teatro from Bologna University. She works as an assistant director, production assistant, and organizer in professional theater, opera, and television. Since 2010, she has had a long collaboration with Stefano Ricci.
She worked as his assistant director for "A Christmas Eve" (2015, Teatro Lirico of Spoleto A. Belli), "Turandot" (2017, Macerata Opera Festival), "Die glückliche Hand/A kékszakállú herceg vára" (2018, Teatro Massimo of Palermo), "Nabucco" (2019, Verdi Festival of Parma), and "Marino Faliero" (2020, Festival Donizetti Opera in Bergamo).
Since 2021, she has collaborated with Stefano Ricci, the artistic director of La Biennale di Venezia Teatro, as an assistant for the International Festival of Theatre.
Born in 1973, Gianluca Sbicca studied set design at the Brera Academy in Milan. He worked with Luca Ronconi for 15 years, starting with "Candelaio" and ending with "Lehman Trilogy."
He has designed costumes for numerous directors in prose and opera, including Claudio Longhi, Massimo Popolizio, Stefano Ricci, and Peter Greenaway. He regularly collaborates with stylist Antonio Marras.
He won the Ubu prize and Le Maschere del Teatro Italiano prize for his costume work on "Freud or the Interpretation of Dreams" and "M," both Piccolo Teatro productions in Milan.
Born in Turin in 1990, Eleonora De Leo graduated in Theater Scenography from Brera Academy. She collaborated with set designer Federica Parolini on productions like "Candide" and "Il Barbiere di Siviglia." In 2016, she began partnering with set and lighting designer Nicolas Bovey on various projects, including "Turandot" and "Nabucco."
She worked with Graham Vick on "The Magic Flute" and "Semiramide," and with Timothy O’Brien on "Parsifal." Eleonora also collaborated with Alessandro Baricco for the 61st Festival dei Due Mondi. Her latest project was "Astarto" for the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik.
From 2021 to 2024, she collaborated with Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte on La Biennale di Venezia Teatro's editorial project.
Paolo began his career as a stage technician for concerts and events before discovering his passion for theatre and lighting design. In 2016, he started collaborating with renowned stylist Pierre Cardin as a lighting designer for musicals and by 2022, he was working at Teatro Comunale di Bologna.
August 2024
The Plot
The title of Le maschere refers to the masks of the commedia dell’arte and in the Prologue the players and their impresario present the characters they are about to play. These characters are: Brighella, a travelling salesman; Dr. Graziano, a man of law; Columbina, his maidservant (in love with Brighella); Pantalone a wealthy resident; his daughter Rosaura (in love with Florindo); a stuttering Tartaglia; Capitan Spaventa and his servant Arlecchino.
The remaining three acts are the play itself wherein after many vicissitudes, Florindo and Rosaura, aided by Columbina and Arlecchino, manage to prevent the marriage to the Capitan which Rosaura’s father had planned for her and instead Pantalone agrees to the wedding of Rosaura and Florindo on the condition that in nine months a beautiful Pantaloncino will be born, while the opera ends with a joyful hymn to the Italian mask sung in chorus by all those present.
