From our archives

On April 24th, 1816, the Cantata Le nozze di Teti, e di Peleo, composed for the marriage of Princess Maria Carolina to the Duke of Berry, was performed at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples.
The Cantata was performed several times at the ROF, beginning in 1990, with Alberto Zedda conducting the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale in Bologna and the Prague Philharmonic Choir, as well as a cast consisting of Luca Canonici (Giove), Mariella Devia (Cerere), Patricia Schuman (Teti), Robert Gambill (Peleo) and Kathleen Kuhlmann (Giunone). In 1992 it was Riccardo Chailly's turn to take the podium of the Orchestra del Comunale di Bologna and the Prague Philharmonic Choir. The cast included Francesco Piccoli as Giove, Patrizia Ciofi as Cerere, Alessandra Ruffini and William Matteuzzi as the two lovers Teti and Peleo, and Gloria Banditelli as Giunone.
In 2007, Ottavio Dantone conducted the Orchestra Haydn of Bolzano and Trento and the Prague Chamber Choir, and a cast that included Vittorio Prato as Giove, Mariola Cantarero as Cerere, Paola Antonucci and Ferdinand von Bothmer as Teti and Peleo, and Manuela Custer as Giunone. In 2010, Ryuichiro Sonoda conducted the ensembles of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and a cast that included Paolo Bordogna as Giove, Olga Peretyatko as Cerere, Manon Strauss Evrard and Lawrence Brownlee in the title roles and Cristina Faus as Giunone.
In 2001, in the absence of the Teatro Rossini, which was closed for restoration, the ROF created an open-air theatre venue in the gardens of Villa Caprile, a 17th-century mansion on several terraced levels, three of which are occupied by splendid gardens with grottoes and water features that are still functioning. The wooden structure of the new theatre is installed in the Villa's former gallop, and consists of a central grandstand and side tiers, for a total of 733 seats distributed over seventeen tiers for nine rows of seats. In this fairy-tale setting, a pastiche is devised that takes the story of the Cantata and gives it a completely new dramaturgical form. Pier Luigi Pizzi is entirely responsible for the staging, while the musical part is entrusted to Giuliano Carella, conducting the Comunale di Bologna Orchestra and the Prague Chamber Choir. The cast includes Rockwell Blake (Giove), Patrizia Ciofi (Cerere), Cinzia Forte (Teti), Juan Josè Lopera (Peleo) and Ewa Podles (Giunone), as well as the Balletto del Sud with choreography by Fredy Franzutti.