3 March- 19 April 2026, Victor de Sabata Hall
THE MAGIC FLUTE (A fantasy in one act afterDIE ZAUBERFLÖTE)
Music by WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Orchestration by PAOLA MAGNANINI
One-act reduction by ANDREA BINETTI
Konzertmeister STEFANO FURINI
Direction, set and costume design by ANDREA BINETTI
Production of the Fondazione Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste
Characters and performers
Papageno/Narrator ANDREA BINETTI
Tamino FRANCESCO NAPOLEONI
Monostatos/Three Ladies GIACOMO SEGULIA
The Queen of the Night/Papagena VERONIKA FOIA
Pamina ATEFEH KADKHODAZADEH
Sarastro KEVIN BALIVIERA
Orchestra and technical crew of the Fondazione Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste
Throughout the month of March, the One-Act Opera series for schools and families returns to the elegant neoclassical setting of the Victor de Sabata Ridotto with the revival of a one-act reduction of one of Mozart’s absolute masterpieces. The Magic Flute may well be regarded as a precursor of modern fantasy: magical, dreamlike and fairytale-like, perfectly suited to younger audiences yet unquestionably captivating for adults as well. The production revives the successful staging created by Andrea Binetti for our theatre, with a substantial portion of the cast that contributed to the title’s success in 2023 now joined by Konzertmeister Stefano Furini.
The Teatro Verdi presents a one-act reduction of Mozart’s The Magic Flute by the well-known Trieste artist Andrea Binetti, who – as is his custom – also serves as the production’s director, set designer and costume designer. One of the most distinctive aspects of this production is the orchestration by the 26-year-old Arezzo-born musician Paola Magnanini, one of the most promising young talents in contemporary Italian composition. Magnanini, who has been a familiar presence in Trieste in recent years, already has several reductions, orchestrations and transcriptions to her credit, including the adaptation and orchestration from the original score of Pauline Viardot’s chamber operetta Cendrillon. This version of Cendrillon was presented in the 71st Winter Season of the Luglio Trapanese Festival and in the 2019/2020 season of Teatro Coccia, where it was revived in December 2021. It was also performed at the Teatro dell’Opera Giocosa in Savona in July 2021 and at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste in March 2022.
The cast features Andrea Binetti himself in the role of the wandering bird-catcher Papageno, who here also serves as narrator, guiding the audience through the intricate plot with its many symbolic references. The role of Tamino is performed by the young Italian tenor Francesco Napoleoni, already well established in his career and with significant experience at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela – a genre that resonates closely with the spirit of the One-Act Opera series as conceived and developed by the Teatro Verdi of Trieste. Papagena will be sung by the young Ukrainian soprano Veronika Foia, who arrived in Friuli as a refugee from the war and was warmly received by Trieste audiences in Luciano Berio’s Magnificat. Among the most promising younger voices is also the soprano Atefeh Kadkhodazadeh as Pamina, recently heard in the cast of Mahagonny. The bass Kevin Baliviera will appear as Sarastro and, last but not least, the much-loved singer-actor Giacomo Segulia – a true favourite with audiences young and old alike at the Victor de Sabata Ridotto – completes the cast as Monostatos.
Leading the Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico G. Verdi, naturally in chamber formation for this production, is the theatre’s principal violinist and here Konzertmeister, Stefano Furini.
Tickets: €10 standard; €5 for under-18s and school students. Information and reservations for schools and groups: [email protected].
Tickets are available from the theatre box office, open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and on performance evenings from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Sunday: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. On performance days, the box office also opens one hour before the start of the performance. Closed on Mondays.
Victor de Sabata Hall – Ridotto of the Teatro Verdi
MARCH
Tuesday 3 March 2026 – 11:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Wednesday 4 March 2026 – 11:00 AM & 6:00 PM
Thursday 5 March 2026 – 11:00 AM & 6:00 PM
Tuesday 10 March 2026 – 11:00 AM & 4:00 PM
Wednesday 11 March 2026 – 11:00 AM & 3:00 PM
Thursday 12 March 2026 – 11:00 AM & 5:30 PM
Sunday 15 March 2026 – 11:00 AM
Tuesday 17 March 2026 – 11:00 AM
Sunday 22 March 2026 – 6:00 PM
APRIL
Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 11:00 am
Saturday, April 11, 2026, 11:00 am
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, ore 11.00 and afternoon
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 11:00 am
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 11:00 am
Friday, April 17, 2026, 11:00 am
Saturday, April 18, 2026, 11:00 am and 6:00 pm
Sunday, April 19, 2026, 11:00 am