01.08.2025

ANTONELLO MANACORDA with Donizetti's Maria Stuarda in Salzburg

Conductor Antonello Manacorda stands at the centre of one of the most eagerly awaited opera premieres of the Salzburg Festival summer: on 1 August 2025, the curtain will rise on the new production of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda at the Großes Festspielhaus - under the musical direction of Antonello Manacorda and directed by Ulrich Rasche. The production combines classical bel canto aesthetics with expressive stage dynamics.

In an interview, Manacorda explains what appeals to him about this project: ‘The music speaks of human fragility - and then comes Rasche's physical staging, which works with panta rhei, the constant flow - this contrast is incredibly fascinating for me’. With this, he addresses a central guiding principle: The singers must not only be convincing vocally, but also assert themselves as living figures in a constant interplay of movement.

The tension between vocal passion and physical drama is a new feature of the opera: the stage becomes an arena in which power, intrigue and fate form a gripping unity. The singers Lisette Oropesa (Maria) and Kate Lindsey (Elisabetta) embody these extremely contrasting women with powerful singing and emotional presence - an encounter of superlatives, the opening of which should further heighten festival fervour in Salzburg.

With an ensemble that masterfully fuses movement, music and emotion, this Maria Stuarda is a contemporary reflection on power and humanity. Under Manacorda's direction, the premiere promises not just operatic artistry - but an artistic statement.

Gaetano Donizetti: Maria Stuarda

Kate Lindsey, Elisabetta
Lisette Oropesa, Maria Stuarda
Bekhzod Davronov, Roberto, Count Leicester
Aleksei Kulagin, Giorgio Talbot
Thomas Lehman, Lord Guglielmo Cecil

Antonello Manacorda, musical direction
Ulrich Rasche, direction and staging
Sara Schwartz, costumes
Florian Hetz, video
Gerrit Jurda, lighting
Paul Blackman, choreography
Yvonne Gebauer, dramaturgy
Dennis Krauß, assistant director

Dancers from
SEAD - Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance
Concert Association Vienna State Opera Choir
Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra