Francesca da Rimini

About

A rarity on stage, Riccardo Zandonai's remarkable 1914 opera Francesca da Rimini, proves itself an intoxicating late-Romantic masterpiece in Christof Loy's powerful staging, starring Sara Jakubiak and Jonathan Tetelman as Francesca and her lover, Paolo "il Bello". Setting a libretto based on Gabriele D'Annunzio's daring and sensuous retelling of a story from Dante's Inferno, Zandonai creates a mixing intoxicating sophistication and intensity, beautifully captured by Carlo Rizzi's conducting. Loy's concentrated production – filmed at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin in front of an empty theatre during lockdown in 2021 – only adds to the drama's power.