Major new sponsors, the continued support of long-standing patrons including the 100Mecenati per lo Sferisterio, as well as year-round international promotion of the region and an increasingly robust box office, not to mention the new green décor commissioned by the City Council: these are the building blocks for the grand opening on 17 July of the Macerata Opera Festival, featuring a new production of *Nabucco* directed by the Belgian director Fourny, a cast of young stars led by the expert baton of Carminati, but above all the festival’s steady growth in its indispensable role as a tool for social cohesion, local dialogue, a beacon of cultural attraction and a virtuous economic driver for the whole of Central Italy.  

Following the huge success of Sferisterio Scuola and the collaboration with cultural associations for ExtraMof, with the Under-30 Previews of the new production of Nabucco on the 14th, The Barber of Seville on the 15th and Il trovatore on 16 July – all enhanced by the entertaining ‘Call Colori’ initiative designed to put the audience centre stage – we finally enter the full festival spirit of the 62nd edition of the Macerata Opera Festival, which will officially open over the weekend of 17–19 July and close on 9 August after twelve unmissable performances of The Barber of Seville, Il trovatore, Carmina Burana and major community events, such as the unmissable ‘Territorio e Comunità’ event on 31 July featuring the mayors of the Macerata area and their representatives.

And it is precisely this atmosphere of close ties with the local community, combined with constant international dialogue, that makes the Festival so attractive – including from an economic perspective – so much so that this year’s sponsors include Enel, the Chinese car manufacturer Dongfeng, and Laboratori Ernesi 1978, which, having previously supported the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, has chosen the Macerata Opera Festival to continue its work in support of musical culture.

Thus, on the restored stage of the Sferisterio – a unique venue in the world for its architectural significance, history and scale – and with a new green and floral display to welcome guests, the Macerata Opera Festival will open on 17 July with a new production of Verdi’s Nabucco, directed by the Belgian director Paul-Émile Fourny and featuring the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana under the skilful baton of Fabrizio Maria Carminati. The cast, one of the youngest ever, features one of the most acclaimed singers of recent years, the soprano Anastasia Bartoli, a powerful Abigaille with a richly coloured voice that soars in the high notes, presenting a modern, provocative image and an unconventional personality that is decidedly out of the ordinary.

Joining her is another intriguing new vocal talent, the baritone Ariun Ganbataar, who recently amazed audiences at the Teatro Regio in Parma with his vocal power, his unyielding projection, his tasteful phrasing and his precise diction – not to mention that he is the second great baritone to grace Western stages from Mongolia, a country which, with a population of just three million, has a particular affinity for opera, thanks in part to its deep-rooted folk tradition of diphonic throat singing.

Then, making her debut at the Sferisterio, mezzo-soprano Laura Verrecchia, fresh from a highly acclaimed season at La Fenice in Venice, the Rome Opera and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and the up-and-coming tenor Simone Fenotti as Abdallo, a voice already established on prestigious stages such as the Regio in Parma. Among the outstanding returning performers at the MOF are the bass Alberto Comes, making his debut in the highly significant role of Zaccaria; the tenor Alessandro Scotto di Luzio as Ismaele; the very young soprano Alessia Camarin as Anna; and the Chinese singer Renzo Ran as the Priest of Belo.

Nabucco, co-produced with the Pergolesi Spontini Foundation in Jesi – further evidence of the growing regional collaboration in support of culture – will therefore present a fresh take on Verdi’s third opera, the work that cemented his success as a composer, thanks to Fourny’s reinterpretation. The Belgian director explains his interpretative approach as follows, emphasising how the relevance of Verdi’s masterpiece today is evident without any forced interpretation: “The power of Nabucco lies in its bold exploration of the conflict between individuals and between nations. Personally, this is what draws me to the opera we are presenting in this new production. A barren, desolate land, the air, the wind and the sea. These are the elements of the creation of the world. And then there is language and all the different tongues, which, because of the ignorance that comes from not possessing them, make it impossible for people to understand one another and lead them into a state of misunderstanding that inevitably drives them towards separatism and conflict. It is a story much like that of the Tower of Babel.”

Meanwhile, conductor Carminati highlights a more metaphysical aspect: “Nabucco addresses, through music, the ultimate question of humankind, which is eternally driven by an indomitable inner call to find solace in a higher power, both as individuals and as a social group. And Verdi conveys this movement of the soul towards a metaphysical answer through music, both in the cabalettas and arias of the protagonists and in the choral passages, which are of paramount importance here in their collective role. That is why Nabucco is such a challenging opera – not only because of the vocal complexity it demands, which requires singers of the very highest calibre and the utmost preparation; and not only because of its modernity and musical innovation, even though it is set within a classical formal structure; but above all because it confronts us with the divine, with the eternal question of all humanity, through the emotional power of music, which transcends linguistic barriers and unites us across the centuries in the presence of the most sublime mystery.”