The sopranos Maria Rita Combattelli and Beatriz de Sousa will be in charge of giving life to the rich and beautiful peasant, Adina, in the comic opera L’elisir d’amore de Donizetti, title hand to inaugurate the new season of the Opera de Tenerife, which will be staged from 24 to 27 October in the Auditorium of Tenerife. Combattelli construed that role Thursday and Saturday, while De Sousa will be the Friday and Sunday.

The Italian Combattelli and the Portuguese De Sousa form part of the seventh promotion of Opera (e)Studio, a project that both met through other artists who have participated in the project of Ópera de Tenerife. Combattelli believes that “the title of this year is very interesting, and I thought that it would be an opportunity to exploit to the maximum” and Sousa acknowledges that drove him to participate, “the possibility of making his debut in the role of Adina”.

Maria Rita Combattelli, who is a student at the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, remembers, “I always liked to sing, since I was a little girl, my mother recalls that she memorized all the songs from the cartoon”. De Sousa, who studies at the University of Music in Vienna, and at the Liceu Conservatory, he began his training at the age of sixteen and had already been in Tenerife to participate in the master classes of Giulio Zappa, artistic director of Opera (e)Studio. Combattelli, in return, enjoys her first stay on the island.

Both are clear that L’elisir d’amore “is a work bright and fun, where it is mixed to perfection comedy, and lyric”. In this sense, Combattelli highlights of the work ‘the complex psychology of Adina, a strong woman and independent, which is demonstrated in every word that he says,” while De Sousa points out that “the music is wonderful, the kind of music that will soon be left in the ear for a long time”.

Regard to the difficulty of dealing with the role of Adina, Beatriz de Sousa explains, “Adina has a great development as a character in the opera, and the aria end reflects this culminate psychological and musical”. For Rita Combattelli, the complexity of interpreting this character “is the vocal part, as it is a role of bel canto, but mostly you have to keep the energy of the character until the end of the work”.

Combattelli and Sousa value their presence in the training programme of Opera (e)Studio. The Italian highlights, among other things, its “surprise to be treated with professionalism and respect that is owed to the professionals.” Also, De Sousa is delighted with the experience and emphasizes “the level so high that we have required”. The soprano lisbon stated that “in Opera (e)Studio of Tenerife I have found the perfect balance between the support you need to a young singer and exposure you need for the start of his career.”

Before the goals of the future, Combattelli prefer not drawn any in particular, and “continue to absorb the most of the work of these months in Opera (e)Studio and giving the best every day”, while the Italian stresses that his goal is to become “a complete artist, without neglecting the vocal technique and, especially, a great performer on the stage”.

L’elisir d’amore supposed to be the start of the opera season 2019 – 2020 with the musical direction of Antonio Méndez, principal conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Tenerife. This Opera production of Tenerife, next to the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre – is hosted by the European Commission within the Creative Europe programme, and assumed the debut in Europe by the stage director, Pablo Maritano, who takes us back to the golden age of film in Hollywood. All that, spiced with the scenery of Serene Rocco, the costume of Lorena Marin and the light design of Virginio Levrio.