Il Re Pastore

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Out of the three dozen operas that Mozart composed, only a handful are typically performed. For this second edition of the Valletta Early Opera Festival, Festivals Malta in collaboration with Teatru Manoel, presents an enchanting rendition of Il Re Pastore, one of Mozart’s underappreciated pieces, with the return of Maestro Giulio Prandi at the helm of the orchestral ensemble. The opera tells the story of the king of Macedonia, Alessandro, who has overthrown Stratone, the tyrant of Sidon, but aims to find the rightful king.

Il Re Pastore comes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s earlier repertoire; a piece which Mozart composed when still only 19 years old. It is often referred to not as an opera, but as a serenata, a type of dramatic cantata. The appearance of a quartet of lovers (Aminta and Elisa, Agenore and Tamiri) of somewhat dubious fidelity automatically puts a modern audience in mind of Cosi Fan Tutte. Il Re Pastore is a piece that engages with similar themes through an Italian libretto by Metastasio.

This year’s opera sees the return of counter-tenor Federico Fiorio in the lead role of Aminta, Claire Debono as Tamiri and Raffaele Giordani as Agenore. The cast will also include two new-comers to the Valletta Early Opera Festival: Catherine Trottman as Elisa and Nico Darmanin as Alessandro. Stage direction is in the hands of Tommaso Franchin and the Assistant conductor is Giacomo Biagi. Set and costume designs are in the hands of Fabio Carpene and Giovanna Fiorentini respectively.