Stasera at 9.25pm on Rai 5 airs there Medea directed by Mario Martone, opera which inaugurated the season at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples last December 6th. Inspired by Euripides’ tragedy, the work – with the musical direction of Riccardo Frizza – is on stage until December 16th. Composed by Luigi Cherubini in 1797, Medea was one of the characters who made Maria Callas immortal.
Medea: tonight 11 December on TV on Rai 5, the plot of the opera at the San Carlo in Naples
The work takes place in Corinth, in the palace of King Creon (Giorgi Manoshvili). Glauce (Desirée Jupiter) she is finishing the preparations for her wedding with Jason (Francesco Demuro). He repudiated Medea (Sondra Radvanovsky), a powerful sorceress and his first consort. The woman, years before, he helped Jason in his quest to steal the Golden Fleecethus betraying his own family, and from their union two children were born.
Years later, Medea manages to enter Creon’s palace and there he meets Jason, whom he asks to reform the family but, after his refusal, she curses him and swears revenge. Medea intends to take revenge, although Neris, her handmaid, urges her to leave Corinth. Also Creon orders the sorceress to leave the city immediatelybut she, begging him, gets it permission to spend one more day with his two children. Then in the evening, with Jason, she recalls the happy moments of their love but the man remains firm on his decision.
The next morning, Neris accompanies the children to their mother as they arrive from the temple voices and moans: Creon and Glauce are in fact dead, poisoned from Medea. The furious crowd attacks the woman, but she, with Neris and the two children, takes refuge in the temple. Jason wants to arrest her but Neris comes out upset saying that Medea murdered their children. Distraught with pain, the man dies and Medea returns to the templewhile this one is going up in flames.
Sondra Radvanovsky, protagonist of “Medea”. (San Carlo Theater of Naples)
The opera by Luigi Cherubini directed by Mario Martone
Opera in three acts composed by Luigi Cherubini with a libretto by François-Benoît Hoffmann, Medea it is inspired by Euripides’ tragedy of the same name. The debut was in Paris in 1797 but the opera was soon forgotten in France while iIn Germany, however, it had considerable success during the nineteenth century, where it was translated into German and Italian.
Starting from the second half of the twentieth century, Medea has made a comeback on international stages, especially in the 1909 version of La Scala and thanks also to the famous interpretation of Maria Callas in 1953 in the Italian version by Carlo Zangarini. The same one that is proposed tonight.
Chosen as the opening of the opera season this year at the San Carlo in Naples, the orchestra is conducted by Riccardo Frizza while the direction and stage space are by the great director Mario Martone. The technical cast is completed with the scenes by Carmine Guarino, the costumes by Daniela Ciancio, choreography by Daniela Schiavone and the lights by Pasquale Mari.
A scene from the production of “Medea” directed by Mario Martone. (Rai Press Office)
The cast and performers of Medea: from Sondra Radvanovsky to Francesco Demuro
World-famous soprano, the American Sondra Radvanovsky is recognized for its wealth and power of his voiceas well as for his exceptional stage presence. Gifted with extraordinary technique, Sondra is famous for her roles in Aida And Amelia by Verdiin Norm by Bellini and inAnne Boleyn by Donizetti, interpretations celebrated for their technical precision and emotional depth.
Born in 1978, Francesco Demuro is a Sardinian tenorgifted with a clear voice and capable of combining technique and passion. In 2007 he made his debut at the Teatro Regio in Parma as protagonist in Louise Miller by Verdi and from then on other important roles in works such as Rigoletto, La Traviata And La Bohème. Interpretations they have conquered the public and international critics.