‘Tancredi’

Against the backdrop of the power struggle between the Byzantines and the Saracens, the city state of Syracuse is divided by internal conflicts. The hoped-for reconciliation between the rival families is undermined by distrust and by the secret love between Amenaide and the banished knight Tancredi. Tancredi was an important step in Rossini’s early development as a serio composer, as demonstrated by his dynamic treatment of the form and a number of structural innovations. Inspired by Voltaire’s drama, he composed one of his most lyrical works – and according to Stendhal quite simply his greatest masterpiece. The conductor Giuliano Carella treats us to both this opera’s finales: in one performance it will be the original – ‘Venetian’ – happy ending and in the other the ‘Ferrarese’ finale, which retains the tragic dénouement of Voltaire’s play. With the contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux in this major title role, this Tancredi promises to be truly memorable.