Antonello Palombi - Otello

Mr. Antonello Palombi is considered one of today’s finest dramatic tenors. Mr. Palombi is in extreme demand internationally, recent engagements include Canio in Pagliacci, Radames in Aida, and Luigi in Il Tabarro at Teatro alla Scala in Milan; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Royal Danish Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Finnish National Opera; Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; Pollione in Norma at the Teatro di Messina in Sicily; Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino with the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Faust in Mefistofele at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium; Calaf in Turandot at Teatro San Carlo in Napoli, Teatro Lirico-Teatro Romano in Cagliari and at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova; the title role of Andrea Chénier with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and in concert with Oper Frankfurt; Ismaele in Nabucco at the Teatro dell’Opera-Terme di Caracalla in Rome and with the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen; Cavaradossi in Tosca and Radames in Aida at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki; Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci with the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; Otello with Wrocław Opera in Poland; Verdi’s Requiem with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Dublin; Andrea Chénier at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; Pagliacci at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples; Otello in Genoa and at the West Australian Opera in Perth.

2013/2014 season includes appearances in United States as Radames in Aida with Toledo Opera and Opera Carolina; Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and a Seattle Opera gala. Mr Palombi will perform the title role in Otello at the Nilikai Opera in Tokyo and Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Yannis Kokkos - director, set and costume designer

Yannis Kokkos made his debut as set and costume designer working with stage director Antoine Vitez. Appreciated for the elegance of his productions, in 1987 he began to dedicate himself to directing opera productions.

At the Teatro alla Scala, he directed Götterdämmerung for the opening of the 1998/1999 season; subsequently he was re-invited to stage Iphigénie en Aulide for the opening season 2002-2003. Among his past engagements it is worth mentioning Hänsel und Gretel at the Grand Théâtre de Genève; Re Ruggero at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Tristan und Isolde at the Welsh National Opera; Tristan at the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels; Iphigénie en Tauride and Giulio Cesare at the Opéra de Nancy; Cherubini’s Medea at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and in a new production at the Epidaurus Festival in Athens; Death in Venice in Liège; Tristan und Isolde at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London; Nabucco at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; Idomeneo in Bordeaux and Nancy; Ariadne, Barbe-bleue and Janacek’s The excursions of Mr.Bruceck at the Grand Theâtre de Genève; Pizzetti’s Assassinio nella cattedrale at Teatro alla Scala in Milan; Die Frau ohne schatten at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Boris Godounov (original version) at Wiener Staatsoper; Zelmira at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro; Pelleas et Melisande in Toulouse; Tancredi in Madrid and in Turin; Iphigenie en Aulide in Rome; Massenet’s Don Quichotte at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg; Giulio Cesare in Egitto in Bilbao; new production of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci in Toulouse

Yannis Kokkos is “Commandeur des Arts et Lettres” in France, he was awarded by the «Prix du Syndacat de la Critique», two Molières and by the “Laurence Olivier Prime” as best lyrical work for La Clemenza di Tito, staged at the Welsh National Opera. He obtained the “Critic Prize 2004” directing the first integral version of Berlioz’s Les Troyens at Théatre du Chatelet in Paris.

Future plans include revivals of Don Quichotte at the Chicago Opera, Les Troyens in Edimburgh, Nabucco in Munich.