Trucco Management conductor Marco Alibrando led four performances of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on 19, 20, 21 and 22 August 2026.
Presented at the NCPA Opera House, the production brought together the China NCPA Orchestra and China NCPA Chorus under Alibrando’s musical direction. Pier’ Alli directed and designed the staging, with costumes by Simona Morresi, lighting by Franco Marri, video projections by Sergio Metalli and choreography by Alessandra Panzavolta, who also served as revival director. Giulio Magnanini was chorus master.
Alibrando conducted the complete run following a change to the previously announced musical leadership. The engagement marked another important international appearance for the Italian conductor and continued his close association with the bel canto repertoire.
Bellini’s Masterpiece on the Beijing Stage
One of the defining works of nineteenth-century Italian opera, Norma calls for exceptional balance between vocal freedom, dramatic momentum and large-scale musical architecture. Bellini’s long melodic lines unfold across intimate confrontations, ceremonial scenes and powerful choral writing, placing the conductor at the centre of the relationship between stage and pit.
In Beijing, Alibrando shaped this musical and dramatic arc with the NCPA’s resident orchestra and chorus. The production used the critical edition of the score edited by Roger Parker, bringing Bellini’s writing into focus with particular attention to textual detail, proportion and theatrical pacing.
The opera’s title role was shared by Lidia Fridman and Gu Wenmeng. The cast also included Antonio Poli and Guo Zizhao as Pollione, Annalisa Stroppa and Zhang Yajie as Adalgisa, and Carlo Lepore and Guan Zhijing as Oroveso.
A Natural Continuation of Alibrando’s Operatic Work
The NCPA engagement builds on Marco Alibrando’s established work in Italian opera. His repertoire includes Bellini’s Norma as well as Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, La fille du régiment and L’elisir d’amore, and Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Across these works, Alibrando brings together rhythmic precision, sensitivity to the voice and a strong sense of dramatic structure. His interpretation of Norma in Beijing placed those qualities at the service of one of the repertoire’s most demanding scores.
Born in Messina, Alibrando made his conducting debut in Florence at the age of 24. He is Designated First Conductor at the Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar from the 2025/26 season and Music Director of VoceAllOpera. His recent engagements include appearances at Teatro alla Scala, the Macerata Opera Festival, Teatro Regio di Torino, Deutsche Oper am Rhein and leading opera houses in Wiesbaden and Weimar.
The Beijing performances followed his appearance at the 2025 Macerata Opera Festival, where he conducted Franz Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe at the Arena Sferisterio, further reflecting the breadth of his work across major international opera stages.
Production at a Glance
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Opera: Vincenzo Bellini, Norma
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Dates: 19–22 August 2026
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Venue: NCPA Opera House, Beijing
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Conductor: Marco Alibrando
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Orchestra: China NCPA Orchestra
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Chorus: China NCPA Chorus
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Director and set designer: Pier’ Alli
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Costume designer: Simona Morresi
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Lighting designer: Franco Marri
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Video projection designer: Sergio Metalli
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Choreographer and revival director: Alessandra Panzavolta
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Chorus master: Giulio Magnanini
Discover Marco Alibrando’s biography, repertoire and latest engagements.