Lorenza Cantini 1958 – 2021

Lorenza Cantini died suddenly in November 2021. Colleagues from the world of Opera and from Teatro alla Scala remember Lorenza with immense affection. Here is an extract from the theatre’s obituary: Lorenza Cantini was a reference figure for La Scala where, alongside the shock and sense of loss for her sudden death, there prevail feelings of gratitude and appreciation of her life-long work inside the theatre. After graduating as a director at the Accademia del Piccolo Teatro, experiences as a writer and actress in the avant-garde and an apprenticeship at La Scala, she became the theatre’s resident stage director in 1986. In this capacity she was an indispensable collaborator for all La Scala’s guest stage directors over thirty-five years, who found in her experience, wisdom, and decision. Lorenza Cantini directed several productions at La Scala in her own right, the latest of which were the children’s shows in streaming during the lockdowns. Periodically, Lorenza revived La Scala productions in many other of the world’s major Opera Houses. She also directed productions of her own for such institutions as the As.li.co, the Rome Opera, the Comunale di Firenze, the Comunale di Bologna, the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, as well as in theatres in the United States and Corea.

Nosferatu

Nosferatu is an opera libretto by Lorenza Cantini inspired by Bram Stoker’s nineteenth century novel and two of its twentieth century cinematic interpretations, Friedreich Wilhelm Murnau’s Nosferatu the Vampire (1922) and Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Prince of Darkness (1979). It has been set to music by the composer Brian Richard Earl and is due for production in the 2022-2023 season

Below are two short excerpts of the scenery video project, set to the music of the piano reduction of the score:

Barbiere di Siviglia alla Scala

In September Lorenza has been working alongside director Leo Muscato in Teatro alla Scala’s new production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, conductor Riccardo Chailly, with Mattia Olivieri, Svetlina Stoyanova, Marco Filippo Romano, Maxim Mironov and Nicola Ulivieri. Scenery by Federica Parolini e costumes by Silvia Aymonino. Performances until October 15th.

Brecht and Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins & Mahagonny Songs at La Scala

During March 2021 Lorenza has been working alongside Stage Director Irina Brook on a new La Scala production of Bertold Brecht’s and Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins and Mahogony Songs for RAI Italian National Television. Conductor Riccardo Chailly, cast: kate Lindsey, Lauren Michelle, Elliott Charlton Hines, Andrew Harris, Matthaus Schmidlechner, Michael Smallwood Martin Chishimba and Matteo Gavazzi