Leoncavallo: Zingari

Based on a poem written in 1827 by Alexander Pushkin, Zingari is a tale of passion, jealousy and crime in a Gypsy camp on the banks of the Danube. This one-act opera was a huge success immediately after its creation in London in 1912 and had an incredibly long run, both in London and the United States. Marking Leoncavallo’s return to the verismo style of Pagliacci, Opera Rara’s version of Zingari showcases rich, colourful orchestral music with powerful choral moments and seductive arias. The great Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova brings life to the beautiful temptress Fleana, who encourages and later rejects the passionate advances of aristocrat Radu, powerfully sung by tenor Arsen Soghomonyan. The American baritone Stephen Gaertner completes the fatal love triangle as Tamar, the brooding Gypsy poet