Great success for the premiere of Valkyrie directed by Daniel Harding and directed by Vincent Huguetthe show that inaugurated the concert season of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The applause and ovations of the public who flocked to the Morricone Auditorium of the Parco della Musica (sold out the three performances) rewarded the monumental production of Wagner’s masterpiece, presented not in concert form, but in stage form.
The last stage performance of the Ring in the capital dates back to 1961. In the Sala Santa Cecilia the director Huguet, assisted by the set designer Pierre Yovanovitch, set up a large white palace that evoked both the ice of the Nordic sagas and the marbles of imperial Rome, suggestions also strengthened by the costumes of Edoardo Rossi in collaboration with the historic tailoring Tirelli Trappetti. In this building and along the staircase the stage action took place which featured the German baritone Michael Volle (Wotan), a specialist in Wagnerian roles, the two sopranos Vida Miknevičiūtė (Sieglinde), and Miina-Liisa Värelä (Brünnhilde), Stephen Milling (Hunding), Okka von der Damerau (Fricka) and Jamez McCorkle (Siegmud).
Daniel Harding, new Musical Director of the Orchestra and Choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia since the 2024/25 season, was impressive for the concentration with which he led the orchestra impeccably.
The show will be repeated on October 25th at 3pm and on October 27th at 6pm. But Richard Wagner’s music will return to play very soon in Rome. Almost 150 years after his famous stay in the capital with his wife Cosima (1876), the German composer is once again a protagonist of Roman musical life. After the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma will also open its season on November 27th with the performance of Lohengrin at the Teatro Costanzi, directed by Michele Mariotti and directed by Damiano Michieletto.
For the occasion, the two Roman opera-symphonic institutions collaborate for the first time, bringing Wagner to Rome with operas, exhibitions and special promotions for the public.
“This initiative marks the beginning of a concrete dialogue between two institutions that share the same mission and a common vision: to promote music and culture in our city, enhancing their role at a local and international level. We are happy to be able to collaborate with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in a project that unites the forces of two great entities serving the capital. Wagner, with his music that blends symphonic and theatrical dimensions, symbolically represents the meeting between our artistic identities. It is a sign of openness and trust in the future, in the belief that together we can do a lot for music and for Rome”, he says Massimo Biscardi, President-Superintendent of Santa Cecilia.
“It is a great pleasure to share a project with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia that celebrates one of the greatest composers in history: it is an important sign of unity and sharing between the two great musical institutions of the capital. Opening our season with Lohengrin while Santa Cecilia proposes La Valkyrie means celebrating not only the power of theater and Wagnerian music, but also reaffirming the value of culture as a space for meeting and dialogue. Together we offer the public a path that unites in the name of a common vision: making music a living, shared and deeply rooted asset in the city and strengthens the planning of our institutions with this important collaboration. It is the first step of a common path that we are building in the interest of our public and the city of Rome”, he adds Francesco Giambrone, Superintendent of the Rome Opera House.
