For this year's Wexford Festival Opera, watch Zoraida di Granata by Gaetano Donizetti live from Wexford Opera House above.
A modern premiere, Zoraida di Granata follows the experience of a woman drawn into war against her will, in a battle to save her love...
The Synopsis: A love triangle, as in most of the opera plots. Usually, the formula is: the tenor is in love with the soprano, but the baritone is also in love with her. With the sixth of the Donizetti's operas, things are a bit more complicated. We always have the triangle formula, but this time we have two tenors fighting for the same soprano. And their names sound very similar.
So: the (villain) Almuzir and the (good) Abenamet are both in love with Zoraida. The villain tenor (Almuzir) is murderous and duplicitous, as he has killed the King of Granada and taken his place. The late king had a daughter, Zoraida. Now, the villain Almuzir wants to marry her. Unfortunately, she was already in discussions with the good tenor (Abenamet). The villain Almuzir knows how to solve all her doubts: he sentences to death the good Abenamet. Zoraida agrees to the new marriage, but she struggles to convince her former fiancée (the soon-to-be-dead Abenamet) of her fidelity.
Somehow, in the end, the villain Almuzir repents, and Zoraida is allowed to marry the good Abenamet.
The production is directed by Bruno Ravella, with Diego Ceretta conducting.
The cast
Claudia Boyle | Zoraida
Konu Kim | Almuzir
Julian Henao Gonzalez | Almanzor
Matteo Mezzaro | Abenamet
Rachel Croash | Ines
Matteo Guerzè | Ali Zegr
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Zoraida di Granata is a co-production with Donizetti Opera Festival, Bergamo
Find out more about Wexford Festival Opera 2023 here.
