Oper on fire
Oper on fire is the annual gala concert of the Opernstudio NRW, a collaboration between four leading opera houses in North Rhine-Westphalia: Oper Dortmund, Aalto-Musiktheater Essen, Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen and Oper Wuppertal. The concert brings together the studio’s emerging artists in a festive evening of celebrated opera highlights.
Recorded on 16 May 2026 in Gelsenkirchen, the concert is a vibrant journey through the operatic repertoire. In the first half of the concert, the young singers bring to life all the facets of the art of ‘bel canto’ - from sparkling virtuosity and dramatic intensity to sweeping, soaring melodies - through the works of the three giants: Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. The second part of the programme features gems from the German-language repertoire, in which irony meets emotion, lightness meets the abyss, and virtuoso voices meet grand theatrical moments. The spectrum here ranges from Mozart, through Richard Strauss and Korngold, to the masters of operetta with its silvery shimmer and golden sparkle. Neue Philharmonie Westfalen and the Opera Chorus of the Musiktheater im Revier accompany some of the best rising talents working in Germany under the musical direction of Giuliano Betta.
CAST
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Soprano
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Tamina Biber
Yeeun Yeo
Elia Cohen Weissert
Marianna Ortugno
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|---|---|
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Mezzo-soprano
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Rosamond Thomas
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Tenor
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Zicong Han
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Baritone
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Sono Yu
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Orchestra
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Neue Philharmonie Westfalen
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| ... | |
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Conductor
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Giuliano Betta
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|---|---|
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Artistic director
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Yuna Kudo
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Répétiteur
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Jay Myung
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Lights
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Andreas Gutzmer
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| ... | |
PROGRAMME
Overture from William Tell by Gioacchino Rossini
"Nel suo divin sembiante" Duet Corinna – Belfiore from Il viaggio a Reims by Gioacchino Rossini
Tamina Biber (Corinna) Zicong Han (Belfiore)
"Regnava nel silenzio" Aria of Lucia from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti
Yeeun Yeo
"Pronta io son" Duet Norina – Malatesta from Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti
Elia Cohen Weissert
Sono Yu
"Ah non credea mirarti" Aria of Amina from La sonnambula by Vincenzo Bellini
Marianna Ortugno
"Je veux vivre" Aria of Juliette from Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod
Elia Cohen Weissert
"Odi tu?", Duet Giulietta – Romeo from I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini
Marianna Ortugno
Rosamond Thomas
"Kindskopf" (Childish Mind) Scene Zerbinetta – Composer from Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss
Yeeun Yeo
Rosamond Thomas
"Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" Aria of Tamino from The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Zicong Han
"Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen" Pierrot's Tanzlied (Pierrot's Dancing Song) from Die tote Stadt by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Sono Yu
"Spiel auf deiner Geige" Jadja's Song from Venus in Seide by Robert Stolz
Rosamond Thomas
"Spiel ich die Unschuld vom Lande" Aria of Adele from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss
Tamina Biber
