PAID ticket registration: solomusica.org/duetto
Info and details: info@solomusica.org
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Friday, 30 March – 8.00pm (Gala Opening performance)
Saturday, 31 March – 3.00pm & 8.00pm
Sunday, 1 April – 3.00pm
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Presented by Solomusica Limited and the Consulate General of Italy to Hong Kong and Macao, with the kind support of the Instituto Cultural do Governo da R.A.E. de Macau, Fundação Oriente, Associação dos Proprietários do Teatro Dom Pedro V and the Italian Cultural Institute, chamber opera production of Duetto combines two iconic Italian one-act comic operas — Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s La serva padrona and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s Il segreto di Susanna — into a sparkling evening of intimate, laugh-out-loud entertainment.
The foibles of romantic relationships are gently skewered by these two stories of courtship and marriage in which the women outwit the men. These two works bookend the history of Italian opera from the baroque to verismo, they make light-hearted fun of the trivialities that can affect male-female relations. They are timeless, fresh and relevant to the contemporary audience.
Julieth Lozano Rolong – SOPRANO
Colombian soprano Julieth Lozano Rolong was awarded a Master in Vocal Performance at the Royal College of Music and is continuing her studies at the RCM International Opera School with Dinah Harris. She is a ‘Irene Hanson Scholar’ supported by a Jessie Summer scholarship and the Henry Wood Accomodation Trust. In 2016 she participated in Georg Solti’s Academy and sang Zerlina at the Verbier Festival’s Project Opera. She was awarded the Prix Thierry Mermod. She has had masterclasses with Angela Gheorghiu, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Richard Bonnynge, Dann Ettinger, among others. Among her roles are Vixen in The cunning little Vixen and Tytania in Midsummer’s night dream. Future performances include concerts in Colombia, UK, India and China.
Jacob Bettinelli – BARITONE
Baritone Jacob Bettinelli is currently undertaking his Masters in Performance with Alison Wells and Andrew Robinson at the Royal College of Music, where he gained his Bachelor of Music degree. He is a Jessie Sumner Scholar supported by the Tiong Kiu King Award, his studies are also generously supported by the K. Wah International Vocal Scholarship. He was a Britten-Pears Young Artist in 2016. Recent solo highlights include a new year recital in Kotor, Montenegro, a concert in Lucca premiering music by Puccini (senior) under Bruno Nicoli (La Scala), and a recording for a BBC2 documentary “The story of China”. Jacob has participated in Master classes with Christa Ludwig, Sumi Jo, Susan Bullock and Thomas Quasthoff at the Aldeburgh Festival. Roles include Masetto (Don Giovanni) at Hong Kong City Hall, Schaunard (La Bohème), Uberto (La Serva Padrona), Nardo (La Finta Giardiniera) and Betto (Gianni Schicchi). Jacob is grateful for the continued support from Talent Unlimited.
Alessandro Ferretto – PIANO
Pianist Alessandro Ferretto has toured as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe. He has attended master classes with eminent professors such as Lilya Zilberstein, Benedetto Lupo, Alberto Miodini from Trio di Parma, Andrea Lucchesini, Sergio Perticaroli, Andrzej Jasinski, Konstantin Bogino and Massimiliano Ferrati. Versatile artist, Alessandro’s repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary music, as well as Jazz. He was recently invited to the international Vivace Vilnius Music Festival (Lithuania). His performances of Beethoven Piano Concerto n.5 have been broadcast on the national radio and television with high acclaim.
The Mascoulisse Brass Quartet
Emanuele, Stefano, Alberto and Davide have all graduated with honours in trombone and have a vast orchestral experience, performing regularly in some of the most prestigious theatres with conductors like Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, Fabio Luisi, Ennio Morricone, Andrej Boreyko, Wayne Marshall and Yury Temirkanov. Embracing also contemporary and pop music, they have worked with Giovanni Allevi, Lucio Dalla, Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocelli, MODA, Zucchero, Fedez, J-Ax and Jovanotti and recorded for Sony and EMI classica. The Mascoulisse Quartet has also recorded six albums with which they have won numerous awards.
Duetto – One Story, Two Operas – PROGRAMME
La serva padrona (The Servant Turned Mistress) – Battista Pergolesi
Uberto, an elderly bachelor, is angry and impatient with his maidservant, Serpina, because she has not brought him his chocolate today. Serpina has become so arrogant that she thinks she is the mistress of the household. Indeed, when Uberto calls for his hat, wig and coat, Serpina forbids him from leaving the house, adding that from then on he will have to obey her orders. Uberto thereupon orders Vespone to find him a woman to marry so that he can rid himself of Serpina.
Serpina convinces Vespone to trick Uberto into marrying her. She informs Uberto that she is to marry a military man named Tempesta. She will be leaving his home and apologizes for her behavior. Vespone, disguised as Tempesta, arrives and, without saying a word, demands 4,000 crowns for a dowry. Uberto refuses to pay such a sum. Tempesta threatens him to either pay the dowry or marry the girl himself. Uberto agrees to marry Serpina. Serpina and Vespone reveal their trick; but Uberto realizes that he has loved the girl all along. They will marry after all; and Serpina will now be the true mistress of the household.
Il segreto di Susanna (Susanna’s Secret) – Ermanno Wolf
Count Gil returns home suspecting that he has seen his wife, Susanna, walking alone in the street, something he had forbidden her to do after their wedding. He is relieved when he discovers that she is playing the piano in the living room. The room smells of tobacco, and he is surprised since he does not smoke and neither does Susanna, nor the servant, Sante. Suddenly a horrible thought strikes him: is it possible that Susanna is unfaithful to him with a smoker? Gil becomes angry and starts to turn the house upside-down after she locks herself in her bedroom.
As soon as he leaves the house, she closes the door and opens the small packet she gave to Sante when she came home. She takes out a cigarette and the two smoke. But while she is smoking with Sante, Gil comes back. Smelling the tobacco he starts to search the house for Susanna’s lover. Having no success, Gil furiously goes out again and Susanna lights a second cigarette. Once more Gil enters and, this time, he is sure that he will catch her in the act. Trying to seize her hand, he gets burned thus finally unveiling her secret. They forgive each other and swear eternal love while smoking together.