After Tosca on 7th December 2019, which was truly well-received, and Il Trovatore in February 2020, which I will never forget because performances were interrupted by the first terrible lockdown, I was able to relive the emotion of singing again in a concert at La Scala this summer. After that, in September I sang in an unforgettable Verdi Requiem in the cathedrals of Milan, Brescia and Bergamo, again with the orchestra and chorus of La Scala conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Finally, singing in the role of Radamès last October, I was forced to drop out before the penultimate performance because I tested positive for covid-19. La Scala always means so much to me, from a personal and an artistic point of view. In few theatres are emotions able to multiply and leave their mark as they do here. So, to experience such a new production as “To see again the stars” was amazing. None of us were prepared for anything like it: singing an aria which was simultaneously exploited by director Davide Livermore to create an evocative performance; it was true story-telling in which the opera extracts conducted by Maestro Riccardo Chailly served to transport the audience into the enchanted world of musical theatre with its eternal truths.
The production was broadcast on the evening of Saint Ambrose 2020, 7th December, by Rai1 and Radio3 Rai, streamed on RaiPlay and recordings were shown on scores of television channels worldwide. Well, it certainly was a special opening night, which I undertook alongside more than twenty infinitely talented artists. None of us will ever forget it.
