Simon Boccanegra: George Petean
Amelia Grimaldi: Eleonora Buratto
Gabriele Adorno: Szabolcs Brickner
Jacopo Fiesco: Alexander Vinogradov
Paolo Albiani: Ljubomir Puškarić
Pietro: Miklós Sebestyén
Captain of the Crossbowmen: Moon Yung Oh
Amelia’s maid: Ruth Volpert

Featuring:

Munich Radio Orchestra
Bavarian Radio Chorus (choirmaster: Stellario Fagone)

Conductor:

Ivan Repušić

The partnership between Müpa Budapest and the Munich Radio Orchestra rests on very solid foundations. The collaboration has brought the audience memorable Verdi evenings, such as the 2018 performance of I due Foscari and the 2023 production of I Lombardi alla prima crociata. On this occasion, one of the composer’s most mature and complex works, Simon Boccanegra, will be presented in concert form under the baton of the chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Croatian maestro Ivan Repušić. His direction, together with the participation of an outstanding international cast and the world-renowned Bavarian Radio Choir, guarantees music of the highest standard.

© Astrid Ackermann

Simon Boccanegra has one of the most fascinating “development arcs” of works by Giuseppe Verdi. After a world premiere in Venice in 1857 that achieved only moderate success, the composer, with the help of Arrigo Boito, thoroughly revised the work decades later for a performance in Milan in 1881. This revised version – which will now be heard at Müpa – already represents Verdi’s late style and is a direct forerunner to such masterpieces as Otello and Falstaff. The opera not only explores political intrigue and power struggles in Genoa; it is also a deeply moving story of a father’s recognition of his daughter. The concert performance offers the listener a special opportunity to focus entirely – without the distraction of staging – on the psychological depth of the work and on the “musical colour” that Verdi considered so important.

In the title role, we welcome the Romanian baritone George Petean, one of today’s most sought-after Verdi singers and a regular guest at both La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The role of Amelia Grimaldi is sung by the Italian soprano star Eleonora Buratto, who is recognised as a leading interpreter of bel canto, Verdi and Puccini roles. The other principal parts will be taken by such excellent artists as bass Alexander Vinogradov (Jacopo Fiesco), baritone Ljubomir Puškarić (Paolo Albiani), and the prides of Hungarian opera, tenor Szabolcs Brickner (Gabriele Adorno) and bass Miklós Sebestyén (Pietro).