Damiano Michieletto directs three Salzburg operas in consecutive seasons

On 21 August, Italian director Damiano Michieletto will become the first Italian to stage operas on three consecutive years at the Salzburg Festival.

After the success of his La Cenerentola at the Whitsun Festival on 5 June this year, the production returns with Cecilia Bartoli in the title role for the summer festival. Michieletto previously directed La bohème in 2012 and Falstaff in 2013.

I wanted a take on the Cinderella story that was simple and well-defined, but at the same time to give it a touch of a contemporary fairy tale,

says Michieletto.

The scene is set in a diner where anything can happen, also things that are most unexpected . The people who eat there are those who are barely scraping by, the surroundings are poor and humble. Cinderella dreams of freedom and love that exist only in her imagination.

Gramilano Editor

Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.