Il diluvio universale (‘The Great Flood’) was premiered in Naples in 1830 but is better known in the much-revised version performed four years later in Genoa and Paris. The story, loosely drawn from the Bible, concerns Noah and his family, their conflicts, and the impending catastrophe of the flood. The opera offers a stream of attractive music, powerful choruses and refined harmonies, and represents a crucial stage in Donizetti’s musical thought. This acclaimed 2023 Donizetti Festival performance, conducted by Riccardo Frizza, employs the original 1830 edition.

‘With Italian conductor Riccardo Frizza, a first-rate opera specialist making a welcome Lyric podium debut,’ wrote the Chicago Tribune, ‘the performance boasted more than enough vocal thrills, elegant orchestral playing and committed choral singing’. The same review also praised ‘the Italian conductor’s marshaling of musical details as they related to dramatic expression – the color and duration of orchestral chording, for instance – was typical of his thorough understanding’.

Bachtrack.com wrote that ‘the outstanding Argentinian bass Nahuel Di Pierro, whose fine, upstanding Noè was a perfect foil to the wily, treacherous Cadmo, sung convincingly with ringing power by seasoned tenor Enea Scala. And the beauty of Maria Elena Pepi’s beguiling mezzo-soprano as Ada ensured that she fought her corner’.

Cast:
- Noè: Nahuel Di Pierro (bass)
- Jafet: Nicolò Donini (bass)
- Sem: Davide Zaccherini (tenor)
- Cam: Eduardo Martínez (baritone)
- Tesbite: Sabrina Gárdez (soprano)
- Asfene: Erica Artina (soprano)
- Abra: Sophie Burns (mezzo-soprano)
- Cadmo: Enea Scala (tenor)
- Sela: Giuliana Gianfaldoni (soprano)
- Ada: Maria Elena Pepi (mezzo-soprano)
- Artoo: Wangmao Wang (tenor)