A drama about fundamentalist obstinance, hatred, and revenge.

Aureliano in Palmira celebrated its rst première on 26 December 1813 at the Scala in Milan. Soon afterwards the work was played in different theatres all over Europe. Nevertheless Rossini's piece fell into oblivion more and more compared to the great competitors like "Tancredi" or the "Barber of Seville" for which Rossini recycled musical parts of "Aureliano". But since a few years there are ambitions to play this work about love, war, jealousy, loyalty and magnanimity more frequently. The direction in Pesaro was in the proven hands of the famous lm director Mario Martone. Conductor Will Crutcheld contributes to the successful performance of the newly edited "Aureliano in Palmira" and masterfully directs the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini.

Revived after 171 years in oblivion, the staging of Rosmonda d’Inghilterra at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti proved fascinating for the Italian public. From the excellent cast of singers, Jessica Pratt and Eva Mei gave stand-out performances. The opera revolves around a tale of love and intrigue surrounding the main protagonists – the famous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II of England, and the fair Rosamund de Clifford. Rosmonda is the quintessential innocent, unaware that the man she loves is the King of England and that she has unwittingly become a rival to the much-feared Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, having already had her first marriage annulled for reasons of consanguinity, is unwilling to see her second marriage also fail. Only the faithful page Arturo, secretly in love with Rosmonda, knows that the Queen is aware of her husband’s betrayal; but he too is embroiled in this game of deceit, hoping that he will end up winning the girl.