The Journey to Reims by Rossini, S 10 dec 2022, No (2022/2023), Režisēja Stefania Bonfadelli,, Diriģents Ivan Demidov, martini-Park, Augsburg, Germany

eople flock to Reims for the coronation of the French king. But suddenly everything stops! All means of transport are fully booked, people from all over the world are crowding into the hotel, pieces of luggage are piling up, everyone is stuck and finally events are happening at a crazy pace: the lost wardrobe leads to a faint; the love lives of three couples are in trouble; a duel threatens while antiquities of mythological origin are being researched. The hotel staff tries in vain to get the chaos under control. Only the magical singing of the singer Corinna is able to soothe the heated spirits. »Il viaggio a Reims« was written on the occasion of the coronation of Charles X in Reims. Instead of a classic coronation opera, however, Gioachino Rossini wrote a pastiche of the superficiality of the nobility and the artificiality of the opera genre, in which he exposes the boiling over of emotions without an appropriate external cause. The coronation celebrations become a minor matter, which only underlines the absurdity of the situation. »Il viaggio a Reims« becomes a festival opera thanks to the never-ending succession of bravura arias in which Rossini lets his singers perform at their best and celebrates the singing itself. This singers' competition is staged by Stefania Bonfadelli, a lyric coloratura soprano who has been in international demand for many years and who has been conquering the opera stages of Europe as a director for several years with a keen sense of the right timing and theatrical effectiveness.