‘La Favorite’ with Garanca at Bayerische Staatsoper

Donizetti's La Favorite opens season in new production with outstanding belcanto singers incl. Elina Garanca, Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien.

Donizetti's La Favorite opens the Bayerische Staatsoper season in a new production by Amélie Niermeyer, well served by a cast of outstanding belcanto singers: star mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as seducing Léonor de Guzman, in one of her sought after appearances at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Matthew Polenzani as her desperate lover Fernand and Mariusz Kwiecien as King Alphonse.
The “fabulous Elina Garanca [...] sings beautifully and emotionally restrained, leaving the audience deeply moved during her dying scene”, while Matthew Polenzani, in his debut as Fernand, scores with superb singing and acting, “reaching high tones with ease”. (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Mariusz Kwiecien “convinces with the proper dandified arrogance and impressive acting”, while conductor Karel Mark Chichon completes the musically fantastic performance by “getting the most out of the Bayerische Staatsorchester, impressively bringing out the dark, viscous sounds of the score and following the soloists with great intuition.” (BR Klassik)
Amélie Niermeyer transforms the tragedy of the female role torn between spiritual and secular values into “a concentrated and intense drama [...] with high acting quality.” (Münchner Merkur), highlighting this contrast by enormous architectural box structures that continually change between representing the state or the church, emphasizing the influence each party has on the current scene.

Production Company UNITEL
Co-Production Company NHK