For her second season at the helm of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Cecilia Bartoli has curated a schedule filled with passion, history, romance, glamour and some celebrity appearances…  

Cecilia Bartoli has definitely made the Opéra de Monte-Carlo her own if judging by the release of the upcoming 2023/24 season.  

The line-up of incredible shows features multiple styles of performance, plentiful top talent and enough surprises to delight die-hard fans and make critics of the art form think again.  

The excitement for the new season can be summed up in the words of Princess Caroline of Hanover, the president of the OPMC: “You made us dream, Madam Director, when you presented the 2023 season of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and we cannot but observe that the result lived up to expectations, and even exceeded them. Your second season is already approaching. I have had the pleasure of exploring it at your side and it arouses in me as much enthusiasm, if not more, than the first one.” 

It is glowing praise indeed for Bartoli, who is clearly looking forward to another stellar season in the Principality come November.  

What to expect from the next season at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo

The season opener, on 2nd November, is a choral concert featuring Guiseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem that was written for the poet Alessandro Manzoni in 1874. Like Verdi’s Don Carlo and Aida, Requiem is a haunting and powerful work, described by a German conductor of the time as “an opera in ecclesiastical robes”. Daniel Barenbaum will conduct.  

Next up is an homage to the legendary Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso on 19th November. This invitation-from-the-Palace-only event comes on the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great singer, who has ties with the Principality, having performed here in 1902 before going on to become a superstar in America. The show features actor Alfonso Antoniozzi and conductor Antonio Pappano. Davide Livermore will direct the performance. 

Over three nights – 22nd, 24th and 26th November – the Opéra will perform the Verdi classic Don Carlo from 1867. This mighty opera filled with deep characters is one of his most regarded and adored pieces. Davide Livermore will direct while Massimo Zanetti conducts. 

The Christmas season will see the Opéra perform one of the most recognisable and beloved musicals of all time, Phantom of the Opera, from 16th to 31st December. It will star Ramin Karimloo and Amelia Milo, with Federico Bellone directing.  

Into 2024…

To start off 2024, Gianluca Capuano will conduct Davide Livermore’s production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto, the Georg Friedrich Handel masterpiece from 1724. The opera runs four nights in January: 24th, 26th, 28th and 30th.  

On 29th January, the moving Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem comes to the stage as a choral concert. First performed in 1869 to honour the deaths of two of the composer’s closest loved ones, the modern version will be skillfully rendered by Regula Mühlemann and Simon Keenlyside, while Gianluca Capuano conducts. 

To open the Bal de la Rose on 23rd March, Bartoli herself will be joined on stage by world-renowned concert pianist Lang Lang for a recital of pieces by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and others; a true experience by amazing talents.  

And to end the season will be a special staged concert where Bartoli will perform with the celebrated American actor John Malkovich in a world premiere co-production with Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo entitled Their Master’s Voice. The show will see music by Händel, Porpora and Vivaldi, among others, brought to life by two masters of the stage.  

Subscribe to the Opéra for priority bookings

Subscriptions to the Opéra de Monte-Carlo are available, giving priority booking, seating and a first chance for tickets to the Bartoli-Lang gala recital as well as many other benefits. For more information, to book or to see the schedule in its glorious entirety, click here. 

Read more:

Opera de Monte-Carlo announces end of year production: Phantom of the Opera!

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All photos courtesy of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo