‘Furiousus’ in New York with music by Roberto Scarcella Perino

The Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò presented Furiosus, a two-act opera inspired by Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando Furioso, at the Kaufman Center. The Casa Italiana’s director, Stefano Albertini, expressed great pleasure in presenting this performance in the form of an opera concert and stressed the Casa’s keen interest in bringing opera closer to young audiences.

The American Premiere of Furiosus as an opera concert took place on February 16 with music by Roberto Scarcella Perino and libretto by Flora Gagliardi. The opera Furiosus by Roberto Scarcella Perino was originally commissioned by The Opera Theater of Philadelphia and received its world premiere on August 25, 2017, in Città della Pieve at the Teatro Comunale degli Avvaloranti. On June 12 of 2019, it was performed once more in Florence at New York University’s Continuum Theater.

The drama of love, enchantment, chivalry, and metamorphosis reunited the librettist Flora Gagliardi and the composer Roberto Scarcella Perino after their collaboration at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa in 1999. Furiosus synthesizes the most significant parts of Aristo’s world-famous poem and unfolds around the themes of nature, love, and extreme madness. Roberto Scarcella Perino’s unique musical vision brings the entire Ariosto epic to life in Furiosus and unites the audience with an unprecedented musical feast.

-Nazli Esen