Opera - La prova di un’opera seria | Conservatorium Maastricht

La prova di un’opera seria (1805) by F. Gnecco
A light-hearted glimpse behind the scenes of the opera world

Conservatorium Maastricht presents La prova di un’opera seria, a sparkling comic opera by Francesco Gnecco. This special one-act work invites the audience backstage at an opera production, where nothing goes according to plan. During a chaotic final rehearsal, rivalries, egos, and misunderstandings come to the surface, with hilarious consequences.

A witty satire on the world of opera, both past and present, featuring colourful characters and virtuosic music. A wonderful opportunity to experience the young talents of our conservatoire in a classic yet surprisingly contemporary piece.

The opera performances will be conducted by the Student Assistant Conductor Xaime Irisarri, under the artistic supervision of Federico Santi.

Reserve your free ticket here.

Cast 9 & 12 February

Role	Student
Corilla Tortorini	Maria Kazaka
Federico Mordente	Àngel Arévalo Salas
Violante Pescarelli	Andrea Palomo Alcántara
Campanone, Maestro	Anthony Bastos
Don Grilleto Pasticci, Poeta	Jordi Ferrer Colomer
Fischietto	Mariana Santos Prino

Cast 10 & 13 February

Role	Student
Corilla Tortorini	Simona El-Sayed
Federico Mordente	Marcelo Alexandre (external)
Violante Pescarelli	Connlaodh McDonagh
Campanone, Maestro	Bálint Vegh
Don Grilleto Pasticci, Poeta	Devon Baird
Fischietto	Beatriz Da Guia Bôto

Orchestra

Instrument	Student
Pianist for recitatives	Maria Leonor Gonçalves Teixeira e Sá (10 & 13 February)
	Guida Miro Rocavert (9 & 12 February)
Violin	Gonzalo Galisteo Perez
	Vasilis Mourikis
	David Bene
Viola	Matias Torres Carrera
	Samia Moussavi
Cello	Jesse Yu
	Érik Díaz Vera
Double Bass	Lucho Arias Polanco (external)
Flute	Ana Casero Poblete
	Nuria Angel Lopez
Oboe	Livia Glavinovic
	Chiel van der Wal
French Horn	Fien Smets
	Jork Coenen

Portrait of Federico Santi

About the Conductor

Born in Turin, Federico Santi studied composition, orchestral conducting, piano and chamber music. He is a conductor with a broad repertoire, active in both opera and symphonic music. In 2008, he won the First Absolute Prize and the Special Prize of the Opéra de Nice at the IV International Conducting Competition of Orvieto, a distinction that led to engagements at major international opera houses and festivals.

He has conducted more than fifty operas, appearing at venues such as the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre in Moscow. His repertoire includes works by Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, Puccini, Mozart, Rossini and Lehár, as well as contemporary compositions and world premieres.

Alongside his operatic work, Federico Santi has conducted numerous symphonic concerts, ranging from Haydn to contemporary composers, with a particular focus on German, Russian and French Romantic and post-Romantic repertoire. He is a guest conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre and collaborates regularly in recitals and concerts with soprano Barbara Haveman. He teaches orchestration, score reading and instrumental knowledge at Conservatorium Maastricht.

Portrait of Xaime Irisarri

About the Assistent Conductor

Xaime Irisarri is a conductor and clarinetist with bachelor’s degrees in both disciplines from the Centro Superior Katarina Gurska in Madrid. He is founding conductor of the Ensemble-Orquesta de Cuatro Caminos and assistant conductor of the Joven Orquesta Leonesa. He has assisted major Spanish orchestras including the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, OSCyL and OSPA, working with conductors such as Nuno Coelho, Teresa Riveiro and Jorge Yagüe.

In choral music, he trained with Nuria Fernández and Elisenda Carrasco and served as chief conductor of the Nayru Pop Choir from 2023 to 2025. He has also collaborated with Coro Semicírculo, Coro Amici Musicae and the University of Navarra Choir.

Opera is central to his activity. He has conducted Menotti’s The Telephone and Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and was assistant conductor for Verdi’s Falstaff at the University of Navarra.

Committed to contemporary repertoire, he founded the Joven Festival Sacro in Madrid, now in its third edition, where he conducted Mozart’s Requiem. He has premiered works by emerging Spanish composers and taken part in Festival Diacronías 2023.

He has studied with Borja Quintas, Mark Heron and Álvaro Albiach, and currently pursues a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting with Arjan Tien at the Conservatorium Maastricht. His work combines orchestral, choral and operatic experience internationally today.

Portrait of Silvia Aurea De Stefano

About the Stage Director

Silvia Aurea De Stefano is an opera director known for innovative and engaging productions. She studied directing in Rome and voice at the Conservatorio di Musica Domenico Cimarosa in Avellino and at the Music Academy of Basel, further developing her artistic practice through lessons and masterclasses with renowned singers including Cecilia Bartoli, Jennifer Larmore, Marcel Boone and Mya Besselink.

As a singer, she performed at festivals and theatres such as the Wuppertal Opera House, the Macerata Opera Festival, the Rossini Festival and the Junge Oper Schloss Weikersheim. She made her directorial debut in 2017 with Don Giovanni at the Landesmuseum Bonn, followed by La Traviata (2018), later revived at several German theatres. In 2022, she directed Puccini’s Tosca with La Compagnia Nuova, followed in 2024 by the world premiere of Pagliacci & Le Maschere in collaboration with Theater Schweinfurt.

As a revival director and assistant, she has worked at major opera houses including the Royal Opera House, La Scala in Milan, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Teatro Real, collaborating with directors such as Christof Loy, Alex Ollé and Marta Pazos. Alongside her directing work, she develops interactive workshops to introduce young audiences to opera and dramaturgy.

Portrait of Sarah Bernardy

About the Set Designer

Sarah Bernardy (born 1984, Germany) studied stage and costume design at the Akademie Beeldende Kunsten Maastricht and the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. After graduating in 2008, she worked for two years at Schauspielhaus Bochum. Parallel to her studies, she designed sets and costumes for productions such as Rusalka at Opéra national de Nancy and Opéra national de Montpellier, Amphitryon at Stadttheater Ingolstadt, and Antigone at Staatstheater Hannover.

After moving to Barcelona in 2011, she created stage and costume designs for numerous theatre, opera, and dance productions, including works presented at the GREC Festival, Teatre Lliure, Sala Beckett and Teatre Romea. In 2014, she gave her directorial debut with Palmetshofer’s “Living. Under glas”. From 2015 to 2020, she taught stage and costume design history and coached graduation projects at Eòlia (Escola Superior d’Art Dramàtic).

Her work has received critical acclaim, including the First Prize for Best Scenography at the Certamen Nacional (Spain). In March 2023, she directed the Greek opera Πέπλα από φως in Thessaloniki. She regularly works as assistant stage designer to Alfons Flores at major European opera houses. In 2024, she collaborated with Silvia Aurea De Stefano on Pagliacci / Le Maschere, signing the costume design and execution.

Portrait of Marte
Photographer: Ies Kaczmarek

About the Costume Designer

Marte Morel is graduating as a costume designer at the Toneelacademie in Maastricht. Since 2018 she has studied theatre as an actress on stage. In 2022 she has been admitted to the Toneelacademie, where she wanted to discover the visual aspect in theatre. 

Since then she has worked on several projects, productions like The Crucible and an adaptation of Orlando. But also theatre plays presented only in designs, like one of her graduating pieces, Cabaret.

Marte works with a wide knowledge of costume history and fashion and she combines these elements with a theatrical and modern twist. She puts a realism in her work, with also a spark of irony. She likes to combine bold colors and give a character something to work with.

Team

Stage Director	Silvia Aurea De Stefano
Conductor	Federico Santi
Musical Preparation	Anastasia Goldberg
Set Designer & Costume Design Coach	Sarah Bernardy
Assistant Conductor	Xaime Irisarri
	Obada Zabadina
Rehearsal Pianist	Maria Leonor
	Guida Miro Rocavert
Costume Designer	Marte Morel
Assistant Director	Luna Gräfin Von Hardenburg
Surtitles	Mar Pino Charlez
Surtitles operator	Beatriz Aires Grilo De Matos Ramilo
Production Manager	Anna Mathioudaki
Light designer	Martin Jan Gaasbeek
Make up Artist	Kitty Dijcks

With thanks to Opera Zuid and Toneelacademie Maastricht

Conservatorium Maastricht would like to express its sincere thanks to Opera Zuid and Toneelacademie Maastricht for their invaluable collaboration and support. We are grateful for the inspiring partnership and the trust that made this collaboration possible.