MITRIDATE, RE DI PONTO Mozart – Teatro Real

King Mitridate has left his empire in the care of his sons Sifare and Farnace while he is away at war. Deceived by a rumour of his father's death, Farnace declares his love to the King's betrothed, Aspasia. She seeks the protection of Sifare. Mitridate returns with Ismene as a bride for Farnace. When he hears of Farnace’s guilt, he determines to kill him. Will the ensuing intrigue of rivalry - in love and in politics - wind its way to a happy end?

In March 1770, the 14-year-old Mozart presented three magnificent arias at a soirée of Count Firmian’s in Milan: this led to his first commission, for an opera seria for one of Italy’s three principal theatres. The resulting opera Mitridate, re di Ponto has the advantage of being based on a great play - of the same name by Jean Racine. The same is true of Le Nozze di Figaro which he was to compose 15 years later. The tension in Mitridate is maintained throughout in a way that was impossible for tragedies of 18th-century origin with their genteel, rather bloodless behaviour. Unusually for Racine, nobody dies except the fierce old King; the Age of Enlightenment did like a happy ending. Acclaimed director, Claus Guth returns to Madrid to present this new production. For the premiere of this opera in the Spanish capital, Teatro Real has assembled an exceptional cast - among them Juan Francisco Gatell, Sara Blanch, Elsa Dreisig and Franco Fagioli - all well equipped for the vocal virtuosity of Mozart’s many arias, which get more and more beautiful as the opera proceeds.

Full performance streamed LIVE on OperaVision on 4 April 2025 at 19:00 CET and available until 4 October 2025 at 12:00 CET: https://operavision.eu/performance/mi...

CAST

Mitridate
Juan Francisco Gatell

Aspasia
Sara Blanch

Sifare
Elsa Dreisig

Farnace
Franco Fagioli

Ismene
Marina Monzó

Marzio
Juan Sancho

Arbate
Franko Klisovic

Orchestra
Teatro Real Orchestra

Chorus
Teatro Real Chorus

Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Text
Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi

Musical conductor
Ivor Bolton

Stage director
Claus Guth

Set design
Christian Schmidt

Costumes
Ursula Kudrna

Lighting
Olaf Winter

Choreography
Sommer Ulrickson

Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.

Managed by Opera Europa, OperaVision is a freeview streaming platform supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe funding programme. Between 2025 and 2028, Creative Europe’s support will help Opera Europa to promote and train emerging artists working in opera and dance. Known as Opera Europa Next Generation, this initiative will give visibility and development opportunities to over 560 emerging artists – in person and online, including via OperaVision – and all thanks to the efforts of a consortium of 44 opera houses and talent development organisations from 17 European countries.

https://operavision.eu/
  / operavisioneu  
  / operavision_eu  
  / operavision.eu  
  / operavision