Opera Naples’ Festival Under the Stars reaches its crescendo this week with five consecutive sunset performances in Baker Park including the finals of the international voice competition started by tenor Luciano Pavarotti in the 1990s in Philadelphia.
It’s a change of venue. The festival has been held in Cambier Park the past four years.
Opera Naples Executive Director Melanie Kalnins explained the move.
“It is a bit of a homecoming for us in that we performed there back in 2021 with our very first Festival Under the Stars,” Kalnins said. “It's a gorgeous space. It's got a huge lawn, which is important to us as we continue to grow our audiences.”
On Wednesday and Friday nights, Opera Naples transports audiences to ancient China for Puccini’s “Turandot.”
“'Turandot' is the story of this ice princess who has all of these suitors,” Kalnins observed. “She requires that the suitors answer three very difficult riddles if they would like to marry her. All of them get them wrong and are therefore beheaded. Finally Prince Calaf comes. He's a little bit more clever, and I don't want to give it all away, but it's a beautiful, beautiful opera.”
The action shifts to the Italian Riviera on Thursday and Saturday nights with Gaetano Donizetti’s “Elixir of Love,” in which a poor waiter named Nemorino has fallen hard for an alluring hotel owner.
“He is trying to figure out a way to win her over and gets convinced by this man who is selling this elixir that if he drinks this potion, it will make her fall in love with him,” Kalnins said. “It's also a very popular and really lovely, lovely opera.”
The festival culminates Sunday night with the finals of the second annual Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition. Following two elimination rounds at Florida Gulf Coast University, eight elite finalists will perform for the audience and a panel of opera luminaries for bragging rights and contracts to perform at top opera houses around the country.
“This is exciting because the people who come for that final round get to see eight people in opera who are rising stars.”
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More on ‘Turandot’
Calling it “A Night in the Mystical Palace,” Opera Naples themed its December gala based on Puccini’s “Turandot.”
The original story has its origins in “Haft Peykar,” a 12th-century romantic epic by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi that consists of seven tales told by seven princesses. Turandot is based on the tale of Princess Nasrin-Nush, a Slavonic princess who makes her future husband risk his life to answer her riddles to assure herself that he is fit to be a ruler.
In the final months of his life, Puccini struggled to depict Calaf's triumph and died before finishing the final act of this grand opera. “Turandot” was completed by Franco Alfano two years later and given its premiere in 1926 at La Scala, Milan. During this initial performance, the conductor Arturo Toscanini famously laid down his baton in Act III, declaring 'at this point, the Maestro died.' Since its premiere, “Turandot” has gone on to have great worldwide success.
In 1722, François Pétis de la Croix published a collection of stories titled “The Thousand and One Days,” which contains a story that resembles the tale of Princess Nasrin-Nush. Whether or not de la Croix ever read “Haft Peykar" has long been debated, but “The Thousand and One Days” quickly gained popularity and was adapted into a play by Carlo Gozzi titled “Turandot” in 1762. Friedrich Schiller adapted Gozzi's play into one of his own in 1801, and it was Gozzi’s adaptation that inspired Puccini to write the opera in March 1920.
Puccini was so excited to get to work that he began composing music before the libretto was completed. However, he was impeded by the fact that he’d never been to China and lacked any real understanding of Chinese music. But a former Italian diplomat had given him a Chinese music box that played the folk melody “Mo Li Hua” ("Jasmine Flower"), which served as a leitmotif for Princess Turandot. It was one of eight musical themes in the opera based on traditional Chinese music.
After four years of composition, the opera was nearly complete, with just the final duet needing to be scored. But at that point, Puccini was diagnosed with throat cancer and passed away from a heart attack only a month later on Nov. 29, 1924.
Before dying, Puccini had composed and orchestrated everything up to the death of Liu in the final act. He left behind 36 pages of sketches for the unwritten ending of “Turandot.” Composer Riccardo Zandonai had been Puccini’s choice to finish the opera, but Puccini’s son Tonio chose Franco Alfano instead.
"Turandot" enjoyed considerable success in Europe but was banned in China until 1998 due to the stereotypes Puccini employed. While “Turandot” has long been considered a classic, its story is still being written, as opera fans, conductors and composers debate and sometimes reimagine both the ending and work to correct some of the issues that come with producing an early 20th century work for modern audiences who are less accepting of stereotypical content.
“We're so happy to be doing ['Turandot'],” said Kalnins. “Puccini's music is just breathtaking. It's just so beautiful.”
Featuring the iconic aria “Nessun dorma,” this visually stunning production delivers a powerful blend of passion, mystery and unforgettable music.
It will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
More on ‘Elixir of Love’
Written by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti in 1832, “The Elixir of Love” ("L’elisir d’amore") is a romantic opera filled with playful twists, heartfelt melodies, irresistible humor, drama and beautiful music to create a truly unforgettable experience.
Donizetti’s operas all have plots that are often light and comedic in contrast to Verdi, whose operas typically had serious themes such as betrayal and political intrigue. Donizetti also favored lyrical melodies and a focus on vocals whereas Verdi’s operas were more dramatic and emphasized the portrayal of strong characters and intense emotions.
Donizetti wrote over 70 operas in his lifetime, including “Lucia di Lammermoor” (1835), “Don Pasquale” (1843) and Anna Bolena (1830). While others are also highly regarded, “The Elixir of Love” stands out as a masterpiece of its genre. Prolific Italian poet Felice Romani wrote the libretto for “The Elixir of Love.” He actually based it on the French opera “Le philtre.” Composer Daniel Auber and his librettist Eugène Scribe had premiered their opera only in the previous year.
“The Elixir of Love” is known as an opera buffa, which is an Italian comic opera.
“Elixir of Love” opens with hapless Nemorino casting lovesick glances towards hotelier Adina, but she takes no notice of him at all. Adina looks up from her book to entertain the villagers with the story of Tristan and Isolde and how a love potion brought those legendary lovers together. After an army officer demands Adina’s hand in marriage, Nemorino reveals his affections to Adina. She tells him that he is very nice, but that she is fickle and will never love him.
At that point, Nemorino meets Dr. Dulcamara. Recalling the tale of Tristan, Nemorino buys a bottle of supposed love potion from the quack doctor. Nemorino drinks the potion (actually a bottle of Bordeaux), which Dulcamara says will take effect in 24 hours. With complete confidence in the elixir’s powers, Nemorino now thinks he can feign indifference to Adina as he sits back and waits for the potion to take its effect on her.
Vexed at Nemorino’s inexplicable change of heart, Adina declares she will marry Belcore that very day. Desperate, Nemorino heads out to find Dulcamara to buy more elixir. Unbeknownst to Nemorino, his wealthy uncle has died leaving him a considerable fortune. That has the village girls fawning all over him, which Nemorino naturally attributes to the second dose of Dulcamara’s elixir.
Adina comes upon this scene, surprised to see that Nemorino is no longer heartbroken. Touched by the great lengths to which he has gone to capture her affections and reflecting on Nemorino’s undeniable goodness of heart, Adina declares her love for him. Dulcamara gleefully insists that his magic potion is the reason for Nemorino’s dramatic reversal of fortune. Departing in triumph, the doctor is hailed by everyone in the village as a hero.
“The Elixir of Love” is a “bel canto” opera. Translated as “beautiful singing,” the opera is vocally demanding, characterized by very high notes and intricate runs. Bel canto singers have to convey the full range of emotions through their singing.
This style fell out of favor as Verdi came along to dominate the Italian opera scene. Nevertheless, Donizetti’s legacy has been cemented through countless revivals of his operas, along with several films and books inspired by his works. His operas remain central to the bel canto repertoire and are regularly performed worldwide.
Pavarotti International Voice Competition
The late Luciano Pavarotti ran an international voice competition in Philadelphia in the 1980s and '90s to foster emerging opera talent. At its height, 1,500 applicants from over 25 countries applied for admission into the competition.
“Those competitions launched the careers of many singers who went on to become famous,” Kalnins noted.
Now in its second year, the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition supports the career growth of young opera singers by offering them the chance to be heard by industry professionals and to compete for artistic contracts. Each winner will receive a minimum of $10,000 in contracts to perform roles and/or concerts with Opera Naples as well as other opera houses and presenters within the next two seasons. The winners will perform in the Opera Naples 2027 Festival Under the Stars.
Last year, winners were selected in four voice categories: soprano Luna Park, mezzo-soprano Simona Genga, tenor Minghao Liu and bass Camhur Gorgun.
Liu, originally from China, is now training with San Francisco Opera.
“[Winning] really opened that door for him, and we're so delighted because he clearly will be a big, big name within the next decade in the world opera scene,” Kalnins predicted.
The first two rounds of this year’s competition are being held at Florida Gulf Coast University. The preliminaries, which take place in U Tobe Recital Hall on Friday, are closed to the public.
The semifinal round on March 14 is open to the public. It begins at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $35 and are available at OperaNaples.org.
The final round is also open to the public. It begins at 7 p.m. in Baker Park, 50 Riverside Circle, Naples. Ticket prices range from $39 to $157 and are available at OperaNaples.org.
“So, Fort Myers audiences can go experience the voice competition there and Naples audiences can experience the finals in Baker Park,” Kalnins said.
The contestants chosen for this year’s competition are:
- Sopranos: Hannah Cho, Laura Fernandez, Alexandra Hotz, Virginia Mims, Tess Ottinger, Sofia Scattarreggia
- Mezzo-sopranos: Ashlyn Brown, Kara Morgen, Grace Ryan, Julianna Smith
- Tenors: Alexander Adkins, Victor Cardamone, SeongBeom Choi, Luke Norvell, Yulin Wang
- Baritones: Alexander Granito, Byung Jun Ko, Yantian Sun
- Basses: Peter Barber, Yoseph Park
Kalnins expects eight contestants to make the finals. Each will perform two arias for the audience and the judges. [Go here to view the names and credentials of this year’s jurors.]
“The judges will select what the candidates perform during the final round based on their favorites from the first and second rounds,” Kalnins said. “That will allow them to deliver a truly great performance.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
