Francesca Aspromonte - Belinda

Francesca Aspromonte was born in 1991. After her studies in piano and harpsichord, she entered the singing class of Maria Pia Piscitelli. She attended several master classes with Barbara Bonney, Luciana Serra, Victor Torrez, Gloria Banditelli and she has just completed her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg under the guidance of Boris Bakow. Since 2012 she is a student of Renata Scotto’s Opera Studio at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She already sang in such venues as Opéra de Vichy, Parco della Musica (Rome), Bozar de Bruxelles, Opéra National de Montpellier, Opéra Royal de Versailles and appeared in renowned festivals such as Ambronay Festival, Frescobaldi Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Musikfest Bremen. Recently she sang the modern premiere of Cavalli’s L’Eritrea in Venice conducted by Stefano Montanari and directed by Olivier Lexa (Teatro La Fenice production); “Amore Siciliano” at the Musikfest Bremen and at the Festival d’Ambronay with Cappella Mediterranea and Leonardo García Alarcón; Mozart’s La Betulia Liberata (Amital) in Merano and Brixen with Daniel Bayer and the Streicherakademie Bozen; concerts at the Centro di Musica Antica Pietà de’ Turchini with Stefano Demicheli; Scarlatti’s La Giuditta (title role) at the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and Pasquini’s La Gloria di Primavera at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, both with Concerto Romano and Alessandro Quarta. She participated in the first edition of the Accademia Monteverdiana directed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

Future plans  include: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Musica and Speranza) and Vespro della Beata Vergine with the Monteverdi Choir and John Eliot Gardiner on tour in the United States (New York, San Francisco, Washington, Costa Mesa, Chapel Hill) and then in London (BBC Proms) and Versailles; L’isola disabitata by David Perez in Lisbon with Divino Sospiro; a new production of Rossi’s L’Orfeo (Euridice) with Raphaël Pichon at the Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy and on tour in France; revivals of  “Amore Siciliano” with Cappella Mediterranea and Leonardo García Alarcón in Warsaw and Brugge; a concert with the Geneva Camerata and David Greilsammer at the Venice Center for Baroque Music.

Adriana Di Paola - Sorceress (March 1^st, 5^th, 8^th )

Winner of Santa Chiara Contest in Naples, she made her debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro (Il viaggio a Reims) and at the Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto (Amelia al Ballo). At the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia she performed Le nozze di Figaro, Ariadne auf Naxos and Rigoletto. Ms. Di Paola sang in I Vespri Siciliani at the Festival Verdi in Parma, where she also performed in La Forza del Destino under the baton of Gianluigi Gelmetti. On the concert side she sang Mozart’s Coronation Mass  with Omer Meir Wellber in Valencia; Brahms’ Alto Raphsody and the Debussy’s Demoiselle élue in Cagliari; Rossini’s Stabat Mater in San Sebastian; Pergolesi’sStabat Mater in Ravenna, Jerusalem and with the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento. She took part in the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival, where she sang in Die Zauberflöte, Carmen and Giulio Cesare. Ms. Di Paola starred as Zita in Gianni Schicchi with the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, where she returned to sing Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle led from the piano by Antonio Pappano, who chose her also for a special event around Brahms. Adriana Di Paola made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival in a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos, Vladimir Jurowski conducting. Among he most recent engagements: Handel’s Giulio Cesare (Cornelia) in Klagenfurt; Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater in Monte-Carlo and in Saarbrücken (in a staged version); Verdi’s I vespri siciliani at the Teatro Real in Madrid; Mozart’s Requiem at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples; Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari; L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Arnalta) at La Scala in Milan with Rinaldo Alessandrini and Robert Wilson. She also took part in the first edition of the Accademia Monteverdiana under John Eliot Gardiner. 

Future plans: Rota’s Mysterium in Bari; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Antonio Pappano; revivals of L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Arnalta) at La Scala.

Stefano Montanari - conductor

One of the most outstanding baroque violinists of his generation, Stefano Montanari is now much in demand as a conductor with both modern and period orchestras. Stefano Montanari was nominated for a Grammy Award for his recording of Purcell’s O Solitude with Andreas Scholl for Decca. His recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas was published for the Italian music magazine Amadeus. He recently wrote a Baroque Violin method, published by Carisch. He just made his theatre debut at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow conducting Così Fan Tutte. In Venice, where he regularly appears both in opera and concert, he recently conducted Cavalli’s Eritrea (first performance in modern times), L’Inganno Felice and Don Giovanni. He also made his debut with the Rome Opera conducting Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Baths of Caracalla. Always active as a virtuoso violinist, Stefano Montanari has just played the whole series of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas at the Opéra de Lyon. After a successful concert with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, he has been reinvited to conduct Bach’s B minor mass and other symphonic concerts. Stefano Montanari gained a huge success conducting Il Viaggio a Reims (new production by Damiano Michieletto) in Amsterdam.

Future plans: Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and Don Giovanni at the Arena; Orfeo ed Euridice at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples; Agrippina in Antwerp; concerts in Milan with the Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali and in Palermo with the Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo. He will play all the sonatas and partitas for solo violin by Bach at the Stresa Festival. He will also play in several concerts with his own ensemble L’Estravagante in Italy and Europe and will return to the Opéra de Lyon involved in several new projects.