The Puccini Opera Gala in Abu Dhabi, to mark the centenary of the great composer’s passing

To commemorate the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s passing, the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF), celebrated the Tuscan composer with an opera concert.

The orchestra of the Puccini Festival Foundation, the guardian of Puccini’s tradition, performed in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on January 31st at the Emirates Palace. This marked the orchestra’s first concert in the Gulf region.

The Puccini Opera Gala in Abu Dhabi offered the audience a selection of the great composer’s most celebrated arias, from Tosca to La Bohème to Madama Butterfly, performed by soprano Valeria Sepe and tenor Francesco Meli. The orchestra was conducted by Maestro Jacopo Sipari di Pescasseroli.