Puccini Spectacular: The State Opera of South Australia brings you the ‘best of the best’

From September 2 – 4, the Adelaide Town Hall will host an all-star lineup, including Gisele Blanchard, Joanna McWaters, Teresa La Rocca and Samantha Rubenhold, along with Bernard Hull, Jeremy Tatchell and Douglas McNicol, who will bring to life the mesmerising melodies of Puccini.

Joining this impressive collection of operatic talent is one of Australia’s leading tenors, Rosario La Spina, following his recent performance in Victorian Opera’s Laughter and Tears earlier this month.

After watching Mario Lanza movies as a child, Rosario became fascinated with the world of opera early on and captivated by the universe of emotions involved, from the “height of love and happiness to the absolute tragedy, and everything in between”.

Since then, this renowned tenor has gone on to achieve worldwide success, making his principle role debut as “Riccardo” in Oberto at Milan’s famous Teatro alla Scala in 2002, before going on to conquer the international opera scene.

Despite a long list of impressive roles across the globe, Rosario still holds one particular memory close to his heart.

“Being an Australian, singing in the Sydney Opera House for the first time was a hell of a thrill for me,” Rosario said.

Alongside seven other gifted singers, Rosario will perform some of Puccini’s greatest masterpieces, all of which are so familiar to so many.

“We’ve taken the absolute best parts and put them all in the one concert, so it’s a real feast,” Rosario said.

Puccini has long been recognised as one of Italy’s greatest composers, presenting the world with operas such as La Bohème, Tosca, La Rondine and Madama Butterfly, among many more.

Eager to perform some of Puccini’s most beloved hits, Rosario La Spina lauds the iconic composer’s intuition and musical mastery.

“Apart from just having an incredible ability to write amazing melodies and gorgeous tunes, I really feel that he knew what the audience wanted to listen to and he just seemed to get the timing absolutely right,” Rosario said.

Featuring eight brilliant voices accompanied by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and celebrating some of opera’s most memorable songs, Puccini Spectacular is bound to provide an exhilarating experience for all, from opera fanatics to music lovers in general.