OPUS3ARTISTS.COM

AllOpera is a new touring company that brings the best of Italian opera to the world with a revolutionary mobile theater and a team of talented singers, musicians, directors and designers who strive to share their passion for opera and the cultural heritage of

Italy.

AllOpera.it

Watch excerpts from The Barber of Seville The mobile theater in action Password = allopera

About the Company

It all started one July evening in 2014. We had gone with some friends to see Verdi's Aida at the Arena di

Verona. The music was beautiful, with wonderful performances from the singers and excellent production

values. We excitedly began to discuss how Italian opera is known around the world for its genius,

passion, and contribution to our culture which celebrates the “art of living.” It is surprising to Italians that

when we go abroad we discover the huge popularity of Italian opera, its stars, and its conductors and

what a significant contribution Italian opera makes in creating an image of Italy as a place of culture and

beauty.

And so that evening, in front of the ancient walls of the Arena di Verona, we came up with our grand idea

– to create an opera company able to take a classic Italian opera production to the rest of the world. Our

new project would perform in Italy but our focus would be touring abroad in an effort to showcase opera

as an important aspect of Italian cultural heritage. This was the idea behind AllOpera. The friends who

came together that evening have continued to be a part of the adventure and without their hard work

and passion, this magnificent company would not exist.

Creating the company took time and great care. The first order of business was to find artists and

creative personnel. We listened to an enormous number of young soloists taking their first steps onto the

stage of traditional Italian opera, both through auditions and by watching existing productions. The

second requirement was to create the orchestra. We wanted an orchestra with an "Italian" sound, one

with the ability to immediately adapt to the voices of the singers and featuring musicians with a perfect

knowledge of the repertoire. We set our sights on musicians from the best Italian opera houses, with

extensive experience working with singers. The technical and creative staff were also selected from

among the best costume, set and lighting designers working in Italian opera. Nothing was left to chance.

We wanted the best, and we worked long and hard to obtain it.

The company's first tour in 2015 was Rossini's The Barber of Seville performed at many top Italian

venues. The tour proved to be a success and was enthusiastically received by audiences and critics who

agreed that the quality of the singers, the orchestra and the set design were more than worthy of the

best Italian opera houses.

AllOpera is now a thriving operation. Prestigious Italian opera houses are working with us to create new

productions, and we are organizing a number of tours abroad. Our desire to expose the world to high-

quality Italian opera stops at nothing, not even the lack of a suitable venue, because we have built our

own travelling opera house. This faithful reproduction of a genuine opera house stage is designed to be

installed and dismantled within 24 hours, allowing us to put on operatic performances in open-air spaces,

town squares and other areas which are not technically suited to such productions. So, everyone to the

opera, with AllOpera!

The Barber of Seville Production Images (view all in Dropbox)

Cast and Creative Team Bios

MATTEO MACCHIONI Tenor

Matteo Macchioni was born in Sassuolo, Italy, and has been studying music since he was a child. In October 2007, he received his Master’s degree, with honors, in pianoforte. In 2008, Matteo was the youngest Tenor ever to reach the final round of the “Pavarotti International Voice Competition”, competing against 50 lyrical voices from 24 countries around the world. During that event, he received praise and encouragement from Tenor, Carlo Bergonzi.

In June 2010, Matteo made his opera debut at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi of Salerno as Nemorino in Donizetti's Elisir D’amore, conducted by Israeli Maestro Daniel Oren. In the spring of 2011, under the guidance of Bass Baritone, Natale De Carolis, Matteo debuted and performed in the Trapanese July Musical Festival interpreting the role of Ernesto in Donizetti's, Don Pasquale.

In June 2012, Matteo reached the final round of “Toti Dal Monte" an international singing competition. In September 2012, he made his successful debut at Stresa Festival, playing the role of the Count of Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

In 2014, Matteo debuted in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, which featured an internationally acclaimed cast, including Soprano Daniela Dessì and Tenor Fabio Armiliato. That same year, he debuted in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with Austrian conductor Johannes Wildner. Both operas were performed at Taetro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy.

Matteo was one of the protagonists of Karol Wojtyla, the true story which debuted at the Cracovia Opera House in April of 2014 and was then performed in Rome, during the time in which Pope John Paul II's canonization was celebrated.

In June 2014, Matteo returned to Geona’s Opera House, Taetro Carlo Felice, to interpret the Count of Almaviva from The Barber of Seville and in August he debuted in Viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival. In the autumn of the same year, he performed Count of Almaviva from The Barber of Seville at Verdi Theatre of Padova, Abate di Chazeuil from Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea, and was on tour with Circuito Lirico Lombardo in the Theatres of Como (Sociale), Pavia (Fraschini), Cremona (Ponchielli) and Sassari (Verdi).

In 2015, Matteo performed The Barber of Seville in León, Mexico. That same year, he debuted in Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd, conducted by Andrea Battistoni and directed by Davide Livermore at the Teatro Carlo Felice. Matteo's other engagements include Mozart’s Don Giovanni (as Don Ottavio) at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, conducted by John Battista Rigon and directed by Lorenzo Regazzo; La gazza ladra at the Rossini Opera Festival, conducted by Donato Renzetti and directed by Damiano Michieletto; and The Marriage of Figaro directed by Mario Martone and conducted by Stefano Montanari which was performed in multiple cities throughout Italy.

In 2016, he performed The Marriage of Figaro at Regio Theatre in Parma and the Valli Theatre in Reggio Emilia. As Don Ramiro, he debuted in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Oper Leipzig in Germany and in August Matteo returned to the Rossini Opera Festival.

During the 2016-17 season, Matteo will perform in the revival of La Cenerentola at Oper Leipzig. He will also make his debuts in Olivo e Pasquale at the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo and in Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto at Bregenzer Festpiele.

GIUSEPPE ESPOSITO Bass-Baritone

Giuseppe Esposito was born in Palermo in 1980. He began his study of music and organ with Maestro Roberto Petralia and later continued with international Bass Baritone, Simone Alaimo. He made his debut in 2004 at Teatro Manoel of La Valletta a Malta, where he played the role of Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, conducted by Michael Laus and staged by Elizabeth Smith and Vincenzo Pirrotta .

In 2013, he debuted in the role of Don Bartolo in The Barber of Seville conducted by Maestro Abzal Mukhitdinov with Orchestra Nazionale di Astana . That same year, Guiseppe was one of the winners of the Marcello Giordani International Competition and the Ottavio Siino International Competition. In November 2014, he played the role of BIS in Rossini's Le Nuvole di Carta at Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

He has performed principal roles in important international Theatres including Teatro Massimo of Palermo and Bellini Theater in Catania. In 2015 he performed in The Barber of Seville at Savona Opera giocosa Theatre, Modena Opera theatre, and the Slovenian National Opera Theater of Maribor. In May of 2015 he debuted in Cimarosa's Il Maestro di Cappella at Teatro Massimo of Palermo, the same theatre where in January he performed in Henze's Gisela, staged by Emma Dante and conducted by Costantin Trinks. At Bellini Opera Theater of Catania he has performed in many roles including Frank in Il Pipistrello, conducted by Andrea Sanguineti and staged by Michele Mirabella; Taddeo in Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri staged by Michele Mirabella; Fiorello in The Barber of Seville conducted by Will Humburg and staged by Dario Fo; Ein alter diener in Strauss' Elektra; Biscroma e Mamma Agata in Donizetti's Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali staged by Beppe De Tomasi; and in Bizet's Carmen.

At Teramo, under the baton of Maestro Stefanelli he played the role of Faraone in Rossini's Mose’ in Egitto. He also performed this role at Teatro Grande in Brescia, staged by Aldo Tarabella. Other recent performances include The Barber of Seville at Orderzo conducted by Maestro Semen Krecic, at the Festival Opera in Piazza Giuseppe di Stefano, and with Teatro Nazionale dell'Opera in Maribor. He has collaborated with important conductors and stage directors including Will Humburg, Costantin Trinks, Massimo Stefanelli, Andrea Sanguineti, Dario Fo, Emma Dante, Beppe De Tommasi, Gabriele Rech, and Vincenzo Pirrotta.

SOFIA KOBERIDZE Mezzo-Soprano (Rosina in The Barber of Seville)

Sofia was born in Tiflis, Georgia. She started her musical training in 1994 and received a diploma in piano in 2001. Two years later she completed her singing diploma. Sofia then became a member of the V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire Opera Studio, where she performed as the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte and as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. From the fall of 2010 to the summer of 2013, Sofia studied in Italy at the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in Catania, Sicily. While there she was successful in several Italian singing competitions. Sofia is currently singing the role of Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Luigi Pirandello Theater in Agrigento, Sicily.

MAURO BONFANTI Bass (Figaro in The Barber of Seville)

Mauro Bonfanti began his musical studies at the Conservatory Cantelli of Novara and later graduated with honors at the State University of Turin. He also graduated from the Academy of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and from the Vocational Training Course of the Toscanini Foundation of Parma. Mauro studied

singing with Bianca Berini and Giampiero Mastromei. He has had the honor of being one of the last students of Luciano Pavarotti. Over the span of ten years, Mauro has performed in numerous national and international theaters including the Theatre of Florence May (three opera productions), Carlo Felice Genova, Comunale of Bologna, Sala Nervi at the Vatican, Opera 'of Monte Carlo, Shanghai Opera House, Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall, Opera' de Nice, Dal Verme in Milan, Donizetti in Bergamo, Grande in Brescia, Ponchielli Cremona, Giglio of Lucca, Alighieri of Ravenna, Verdi in Pisa, Municipality of Piacenza and the Muse of Ancona. He has worked with several noted conductors, directors and singers including Renato Bruson, Andrea Beyespots, Bruno De Simone, Enzo Dara, Andrea Battistoni, Rockwell Blake, Dmitri Jurowski, Sergio Alapont, Gianpaolo Bisanti, Ramon Vargas, Christopher Franklin, Stefano Montanari, Jonathan Webb, Damiano Michieletto, Jean Luis Grinda, Filippo Crivelli, Beppe De Tomasi, Piernarciso Masi, Stefano Vizioli, Andrea Swans and Franco Ripa di Meana.

Mauro Bonfanti has the same passion and dedication for teaching as he has for singing. He is a teacher at the Conservatory of Canton, an Honorary Professor at the University of Quingdao, and Visiting Professor at the University of Hainan (China). He has created several master classes on Italian Bel Canto technique and style.

Last year he took over the role of Figaro in Rossini's, The Barber of Seville at the Teatro Chiabrera in Savona and the Teatro Pavarotti in Modena.

COSTANTINO FINUCCI Bass Baritone (Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville)

Born in Salerno, Italy, Costantino Finucci received his degree with honors at the conservatory of Salerno G. Martucci with Claudio Disegni. He continued his studies in master classes of Chigiana, Spoleto, Aslico and Scuola dell'Opera Italiana, among others with Alfonso Antoniozzi, Renato Bruson, Brigitte Fassbaender, Barbara Frittoli, Raina Kabaivanska, and Leo Nucci.

In 2005, he debuted at the 59th edition of the prestigious Teatro Lirico Sperimentale competition, and went on to win other important competitions such as the 59th Aslico. He has performed more than 20 principal roles including the title role in Cagnoni's King Lear at the festival of Valle d'Itria. Costantino has performed at many prestigious opera houses including Vincenzo Bellini di Catania, Landestheater di Innsbruck, comunale di Piacenza, teatro Grande di Bresca, Pochielli di Cremona, Sociale di Como, Fraschini di Pavia, and Politeama di Lecce. He was worked with conductors including Daniele Agiman, Marcello Panni, Antonio Pirolli, Stefano Ranzani, and Donato Renzetti, and directors such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Davide Livermoore, Jean Louis Pichon, Tito Schipa J., and Beppe De Tomasi.

MIRELLA DI VITA Soprano (Berta in The Barber of Seville)

Mirella Di Vita graduated with honors from University of Pisa studying Russian Language and Literature and went on to study singing at the Luigi Boccherini Conservatoire in Lucca under M Giovanni Dagnino. Afterwards she focused on repertoire of the Twentieth Century with Gabriella Ravazzi and performed with Raina Kabaivanska, Bruna Baglioni, and Micaela Carosi. She received a masters in Opera Singing at Niccolò Paganini Conservatoire in Genoa, graduating with honors.

She has won numerous prizes and competitions including 1st prize at the "Riviera della Versilia" in 2002, 1st prize at the Chamber Music Competition "Città di Vercelli" in 2003, Special Prize at "Boris Christoff" in 2003 as the best young singer and, 2nd prize at the "Premio Nazionale delle Arti" in Turin in 2011.

Mirella's roles include Adina in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Marina in E. Wolf-Ferrari's I Quattro Rusteghi, Clarice in J. Haydn's Il Mondo della Luna, Dido and Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Rosina in Mozart's La finta semplice, the Baronessa in Pietro Guglielmi's Le Vicende d’amore, Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Hanna Glawary in Lehar 's The Merry Widow, Papagena in

Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Serafina in Donizetti's Il Campanello, Clorinda in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Mimì in Puccini's La Boheme, and Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Throughout Italy and abroad, Mirella has performed in prestigious theaters and Opera Festivals including Teatro Nuovo of Torino, Teatro Alighieri of Ravenna, Teatro del Giglio of Lucca, Teatro Coccia of Novara, Teatro dal Verme of Milano, Teatro Alfieri of Asti, Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova,Teatro Sociale of Bergamo, L'Opera de Chambre de Geneve, la Biennale of Venice, and The National Theatre of Rabat.

Mirella has worked with conductors such as Aldo Sisillo, Giuseppe Ratti, Lorenzo Tazzieri Franco Trinca, Roberto Gianola, Valerio Galli, Benoit Girault, Marco Zambelli, Giuliano Carella, Johannes Wildner, Christopher Franklin, and Mario Ancillotti. She has worked with stage directors including Aldo Tarabella, Gino Zampieri, Sarah Ventura, Vivien Hewitt, Simona Marchini, Ugo Gregoretti, Filippo Crivelli, Rolando Panerai, Franco Ripa di Meana, Giancarlo Cauteruccio, and Jean Marc Biskup. During the 2014-15 season, Mirella sang Yvette in Puccini's La Rondine at Teatro del Giglio of Lucca, Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti of Modena, Teatro Verdi of Pisa, Teatro Goldoni of Livorno and Teatro Alighieri of Ravenna; Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera in Bergamo; the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro in Genova; Princess Drusilla in Tutino's Il gatto con gli stivali in Lucca; Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville; Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto at Saaremaa Opera Festival in Estonia; and Nella in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at Puccini Opera Festival in Torre del Lago.

Mirella performed in the BBC broadcast “Great Continental Railway Journey,” about Lucca and Giacomo Puccini, singing excerpts from La Boheme. Her repertoire also includes sacred music, chamber music and contemporary music. She has recently presented recitals in Switzerland, Poland, Finland, France and Romania. In October 2015 Mirella released a CD of chamber arias for voice and piano by Korngold and Castelnuovo Tedesco.

LORENZO MALAGOLA BARBIERI Bass-baritone

Lorenzo Malagola Barbieri is a graduate of Regia Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna, Italy where he studied with tenors Sergio Bertocchi and Paola Molinari. He has also received degrees from Modena’s Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali and in Musicology from Pavia’s University.

He has studied with singers Monica Mauch, Leone Magiera, Paolo Barbacini, Bruno de Simone, Nicola Ulivieri and Giulio Zappa and is currently continuing his studies with Davide Rocca and Mariella Devia.

In 2009, Lorenzo debuted in the roles of Chato and Desengaño in Tomàs Torrejon Baroque's opera, La purpura de la rosa. Other performance credits include the roles of Uberto in La Serva Padrona and Sicario in Macbeth at the Ravenna Festival conducted by Nicola Paszkowsky and directed by Cristina Mazzavillani Muti; Pluton in Monteverdi's Il Ballo delle Ingrate, Fiorello in The Barber of Seville with Opera Studio LTL under the direction of Alessio Pizzech; Mozart's Requiem in Cremona conducted by Antonio Greco; and Marullo in Rigoletto.

Lorenzo was the third prize recepient at the Rami Musicali competition. He debuted at the Òpera Estudio de Tenerife in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro with conductor Y Chen Li and director Silvia Paoli.

In May 2016, he sang the role of Figaro at Teatro Comunale in Bologna.

LEILA FTEITA Set/Production Designer

Leila Fteita graduated from the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti in Turin and immediately started working with Giorgio Strehler as an associate set designer for Ezio Frigerio, on both opera and drama productions. She then went on to work as a set designer at Teatro alla Scala and at Piccolo Teatro in Milan.

Ms. Fteita has worked and collaborated with a number of designers including Dante Ferretti, Gae Aulenti, Peter Stein, Margherita Palli, Tullio Pericoli, Carlo Diappi e Hugo de Ana for opera and drama productions, Liliana Cavani, Luca Ronconi, Ermanno Olmi, Michael Hampe, Pier’Alli, Jérome Savary, Franco Zeffirelli, Bob Wilson, Luis Pasqual, Gilbert Deflo, Werner Herzog, Nicholas Joël, Hugo de Ana, Graham Vick e Peter Stein.

In 1991, Leila created the sets and costumes for Nicholas Wright's, Mrs. Klein, staged by Asti Teatro. The following year she debuted at Teatro alla Scala as the stage designer for La Bottega Fantastica. In 1996 she designed Britten's The Little Sweep at Teatro Comunale in Florence, directed by Marina Bianchi. In 1997 she created the sets and costumes for a new production of Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni and Blue Monday by Gershwin at the Goldoni Theatre in Livorno. In 1998 she produced scenes for the ballet The Great Gatsby for the Teatro alla Scala.

In May 2012, Leila collaborated with Hugo De Ana on Un ballo in maschera for the Peking Opera. During the 2013-2014 season she returned to Teatro alla Scala, where she designed the sets for Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Guy Cassiers.

Over the years, she has collaborated with the University of Milan, teaching seminars on the history of set design. She is currently working on an ambitious project, Filumena Marturano by Eduardo De Filippo.

DANIELE AGIMAN Conductor

Mr. Daniele Agiman is one of the most dynamic Italian conductors on the international scene. He is a regular guest at some of the most prestigious institutions in South Korea and Japan. Some of his most significant productions include Gianni Schicchi and Cavalleria Rusticana at State Theatre of Taegu (South Korea) during the joint celebration of the cities of Milan and Taegu; Lucia di Lammermoor at the Sejong Opera Festival in Seoul, and La Traviata in Centennial Hall of Nara (Japan).

Agiman has also conducted in Argentina, South Africa, Germany, Romania, Switzerland, Georgia and Russia. In December 1992, Winer Kammerorchester invited him to debut at Konzerthaus of Wien and at Brucknethaus of Linz.

Since winning the first prize at the Mario Gusella Competition in Pescara in 1991, he has been invited to conduct some of the most important Italian orchestras including Orchestra della Toscana, Pomeriggi Musicali, Filarmonica Marchigiana, Sinfonica Abruzzese, and Solisti Aquilani, and in theatres including Teatro Regio of Torino, Teatro delle Muse of Ancona, Comunale of Modena, Lauro Rossi of Macerata, Teatro Lirico of Cagliari, Pergolesi of Jesi, Teatri Comunali of Belluno, Corridonia, and Taranto.

Agiman is focused on promoting contemporary productions, in particular works from Italian composers. He often conducts the debut productions.

Since 1999 he has been a professor of Conducting at G. Verdi Conservatorium in Milan and a honorary professor of conducting at Kurashiki Sakuyo University in Japan.

Since 2009 he has been the principal conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini in Pesaro.

ALDO TARABELLA Director and Composer

Aldo Tarabella divides his time primarily between directing and composing. He has collaborated with some of the most prestigious opera companies and theaters in Europe including The Royal Academy of London, the Symphony Orchestra of Cannes, the ORT Orchestra della Toscana, the Festival di Nuova Consonanza of Rome, RAI (Radiotelevisione italiana), the Two Worlds Festival of Spoleto and the Mozarteum of Salzburg. He composed, among other pieces, the music for the second part of Faust-Framenti directed by Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro of Milan. Other theatre and film credits include working with Russian director Nikita Mickalkov on the music for the film Oci Ciornie and working on the set for Pianola meccanica at the Teatro Argentina of Rome, with Marcello Mastroianni. For Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, he composed a suite that was performed in Brussels under the high patronage of the Italian Embassy. He has worked frequently in ballet, including collaborations with choreographer Micha von Hoekhe for Guitare and Voyage. He has also composed and directed his own lyric operas which include Clown, directed by Antonio Ballista; Arlecchino, commissioned by the ORT; and the works Il Maestro e i piccoli cantori and Il pianeta della verità for the Accademia di Santa Cecilia of Rome. Commissioned by CIDIM – UNESCO, he debuted Opera bestiale, at the Parco della Musica of Rome. This work was performed at several theatres including Turin’s Teatro Regio and Bologna’s Teatro Comunale. He has continued his collaboration with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia of Rome with a new work, the exhilarating Tubeo e Violetta, a parody of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which has been a success among critics and audiences. He composed Il servo padrone, an ideal and parodic continuation of the celebrated comic work La serva padrona, which has been performed at the Società Concertistica Barattelli of L’Aquila with the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, the Mittelfestival of Cividale del Friuli and, in July 2005, at the Ravello Festival. His works have been published by Casa Musicale Sonzogno in Milan.

In December 2002, he directed the first modern production of Malavita by Umberto Giordano at the Teatro Umberto Giordano in Foggia, The Barber of Seville in Toronto for Royal Opera Canada and Menotti’s Medium in the town of Jesi. In collaboration with Bruno Bartoletti, he directed Marcella by Umberto Giordano and La Bohème for the Teatro Coccia in Novara. He returned, with great success to the Abbey of San Galgano in Siena with a special production of The Magic Flute, to Asturia, Spain with Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, to the Laboral Theatre in the Arena of Gjion and to Mantua, at the Teatro Sociale, with a brilliant production of The Barber of Seville. As part of the ORT season, his opera Clown was performed at the Teatro Verdi in Florence and later in Pisa. He served as director for a regional project to promote young actors, singers, set designers, costume designers and technicians which was dedicated to Sergio Tofano and Nino Rota. The project was a staging of a musical comedy based on the character of Signor Bonaventura, L’Isola dei pappagalli, at Prato’s Teatro Metastasio, Fiesole’s Scuola di Musica and the ORT.

Next September, Tarabella will direct his own opera, Il servo padrone, at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze.

He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Festival dell’Opera Buffa for the Region of Lombardy. Since 2013, he has served as the Artistic Director of Teatro del Giglio of Lucca.