Winter/Spring 2020 Preview

Leonardo Capalbo’s Winter and Spring 2020 Features Rigoletto, Hoffmann, and Carmen

Leonardo Capalbo begins 2020 with a return to Berlin in his company debut at the Komische Oper. Capalbo stars as the Duke of Mantua in Barrie Kosky’s production of Rigoletto, a role he has sung to great acclaim. Last season, Seen and Heard International called Capalbo the “personification of the Duke,” noting “he sings like a god.” Performances of Rigoletto run February 7-March 21, 2020 at the Komische Oper Berlin.

Later in April, Capalbo returns to Japan in his New National Theatre debut as the title character in Les contes d’Hoffmann, the same role in which he made his Japanese debut at Bunkamura Hall. Capalbo recently sang Hoffmann in the final performances of the famed Schlesinger production at the Royal Opera Covent Garden of which Mark Pullinger praised his “beautifully honeyed, lyric sound.” Performances of Les contes d’Hoffmann run April 19-25, 2020 at the New National Theatre Tokyo.

Next, Capalbo stars in a special presentation of Verdi’s Requiem at Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam. Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín is a concert-drama conceived, created, and conducted by Maestro Murry Sidlin. It combines a full performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem Mass with video testimony from survivors of the original Terezín chorus and footage from the 1944 Nazi propaganda film about Theresienstadt. The performance also includes actors who speak the words of imprisoned conductor Rafael Schächter and others. Defiant Requiem plays May 3, 2020, at the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam.

Capalbo finishes the spring with two star turns in Spain. At the Teatro Real Madrid, he stars as Osaka in Mascagni’s rarely performed Iris. The concert performances will be led by Evelino Pidò and star Ermonela Jaho as the title character. Then, he stars as Don José in Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen at the Liceu Barcelona. The Times of London has praised Capalbo’s Don José as “assured, appealing, and convincing.” Performances of Iris run May 18-22, 2020 at the Teatro Real Madrid. Performances of Carmen run June 8-22, 2020 at the Liceu Barcelona, featuring a worldwide live broadcast on June 20th.