Mascarade Opera

Congratulations to Hovhannes Karapetyan on his role debut as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden! 💥

Since taking part in our 2023/24 Emerging Artists Programme, Hovhannes has gone on to enjoy great success as a fest artist in Wiesbaden. This season, alongside Don Alfonso, he also performs the roles of Doktor Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Kuno in Der Freischütz, Mamma in La Mamma!, and Baron Douphol in La traviata.

Bravo, Hovhannes! 👏

In bocca al lupo to Mascarade Opera alum Garrett Evers, who debuts as Cassio tonight in Otello at Staatstheater Meiningen. ⚡

A member of Mascarade Opera 2024/25, Garrett joined the ensemble at Staatstheater Meiningen at the beginning of the season, where he has already given seven role debuts across seven productions, including Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Rodolfo (La Bohème), Edwin (Die Csárdásfürstin), Walter von der Vogelweide (Tannhäuser), Araspe (Didone abbandonata), Froh (Das Rheingold), and now Cassio (Otello).

A thrilling first season on stage and only the beginning🔥

📸 Christina Iberl / Staatstheater Meiningen

We are pleased to have partners by our side who believe in talent and in supporting young artists 🎶🩵

Once again this year, Mascarade Opera is a partner of . During the competition week, the Programme Director, Dr. Ralph Strehle, will listen to all selected singers, with the opportunity to identify profiles of particular interest for future opportunities within the programme.

🤝An important collaboration in support of the new generation of opera talent.

The répétiteurs behind this year’s showcase ✨

Within the work of Mascarade Opera, what reaches the stage is shaped long before the first note is heard. At the heart of this process are our two répétiteurs, Aya Robertson and Jamie Andrews.

Through countless hours of rehearsal, they shape sound into intention, bring clarity to detail, and guide singers in the search for their most authentic expression. Their work forms a constant pulse running through the entire production.
Two remarkable artists.

A luxury clinic suspended between the 1920s and 1940s ✨

Set design by Anna Bonomelli - Villa Belcanto became a living architecture of memory, where space and voice met on the same stage.

The set didn’t simply frame the performance: it held the emotion of the artists, turning architecture into part of the storytelling itself.

The Artists behind this year’s showcase ✨

30 May at Teatro Regio di Parma: where voices, faces and stories briefly became one living presence on stage.

Seven artists, seven different worlds, held together by the same breath of theatre: Mariam Suleiman, Anna-Helena MacLachlan, Vuyisa Xipu, Taylor Wallbank, Benjamin Gautier, Charles Buttigieg, and Ferdinand Muradyan.

VILLA BELCANTO 🕰️🪞🕯️

A triumph from start to finish.
On Saturday evening, the Mascarade Opera Artists took to the stage at Teatro Regio di Parma, accompanied by the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna under the baton of Maestro Wyn Davies, holding the audience in its spell from the very first moment.

Thank you to everyone who made VILLA BELCANTO possible, and thank you to all who joined us for this unforgettable evening.

ARTISTI
Benjamin Gautier, baritono
Anna-Helena Maclachlan, mezzosoprano
Mariam Suleiman, soprano
Taylor Wallbank, tenore
Vuyisa Xipu, tenore
Jamie Andrews, répétiteur
Aya Robertson, répétiteur
Ferdinand Muradyan, basso
Charles Buttigieg, baritono

REGISTA Federico Grazzini
SCENOGRAFA E COSTUMISTA Anna Bonomelli
DIRETTORE TECNICO Orlando Bolognesi
LIGHTING DESIGNER Giuseppe Di Iorio

ATTORI
Davide Arena, Gabriele Badaglialacqua, Fabio Prieto Bonilla, Marco Bonucci, Maria Laura Caselli, Lucia Donati, Simone Maiorano, Alessandra Martino

📷: Marco Borrelli