Fidelio
Theater Magdeburg
"COLORFUL, HIGHLY TOPICAL, MAGNIFICENT. (...) The music piece was directed by Ilaria Lanzino, who with her interpretation, clearly reminds the audience why she was awarded the European Opera Directing Prize in 2020. Lanzino modernizes the socially critical opera by shifting its focus from commenting on the French Revolution, as it did at its premiere over 200 years ago, to addressing climate change and global warming. The director succeeds in creating a believable connection to the present, striking a chord with every viewer without the piece ever becoming too kitschy or moralistic. (...) Conclusion: At the end of 'Fidelio’ some audience members are likely left pondering whether the Magdeburg Theater has ever shown something so magnificent before – and they will ponder for a long time. With 'Fidelio’ the opera house has achieved a true masterpiece that impresses not only with the great skill of the singers, choir, and orchestra but also with the costumes, set design, and relevant topicality, offering a complete package of operatic enjoyment that will hopefully delight many more hundreds of viewers”
TAG24
“The Italian director Ilaria Lanzino, winner of the European Opera Directing Prize 2020, is making her debut at Theater Magdeburg. Following her much-praised Leipzig production of Thea Musgrave's "Mary, Queen of Scots," she now ventures into Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera "Fidelio," imprinting it with her own unmistakable style. (...) Lanzino sticks to her concept, no matter the cost. It is absolutely surreal and could have sprung from the mind of René Magritte“
Das Opernglas
"quick-paced, surreally funny, touching"
Die Welt
"In the fast-paced and multi-layered production by Ilaria Lanzino, Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera 'Fidelio' premieres at the Theater Magdeburg. (...) A tour-de-force production, with refreshing pace (...) A multi-faceted, convincing performance.“
Volksstimme
"Opera director Ilaria Lanzino is steadily building her image as a documentary director addressing burning contemporary issues. In the Staatstheater Nürnbergs 'L'elisir d'amore’ she caricatured the dumbing down through digital dreamscapes and social media hookups. For the production of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera 'Fidelio' in the 1814 version at the Theater Magdeburg, Lanzino focuses far more
on the ignorance of wealthy countries towards the victims of climate change than on glorifying the idea of freedom that Beethoven based on a very fashionable theme around 1800. (...) She crafts a provocative stage study on collective denial. Beethoven decided to end the drama with a somewhat forced conclusion, but in Lanzino‘s contemporary panorama, the piece truly takes off after her critical directorial final chord. Great applause."
Concerti