Don Quiсhotte released on disc

Outstanding Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto performed this role in a concert performance of the opera Don Quiсhotteat the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in February 2010. “What we heard surpassed every expectation” was the reaction of the press and the public alike. Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomostinoted that “the star of the opera performance was, first and foremost, our Italian visitor. Ferruccio Furlanetto proved that this is, indeed, his favourite role.” Music critic Vladimir Dudin commented that at the age of sixty the singer “who has worked with von Karajan, Abbado, Muti and other god-like conductors” is in stunning vocal form and can serve as a benchmark of performing style.” In an interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta the singer remarked that the role of Don Quichotte is particularly important in his repertoire as “he embodies traits of the ideal man – filled with poetry and love for others, his surroundings and nature – a triumph of humanity.”

The recording features the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers and the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev; the role of Dulcinée is performed by Anna Kiknadze and that of Sancho Pança by Andrei Serov.