Lima will become the capital of Ibero-American opera during the second half of June. As part of Ópera Latinoamérica’s 19th Annual Conference, the city’s theatres will host a week of complementary activities including two opera premieres, one by Rossini and another presenting a jewel of the Latin American Baroque repertoire, the opening of an exhibition on the Italian legacy in theatres across the continent, and a closing concert at Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú.

As is tradition, the conference will offer international guests a diverse complementary programme across the host venues. On Wednesday 17 June, Teatro Municipal de Lima will premiere Tancredi by Gioacchino Rossini, staged by Matteo Anselmi and conducted by Alessandro Bonato. The cast will feature Anna-Doris Capitelli, Iolanda Massimo, Matteo Roma and Gianluca Margheri.

On Thursday 18 June, Teatro Manuel A. Segura, operated by the Municipality of Lima and host to some conference activities, will present a jewel of the Latin American Baroque repertoire: La -púrpura de la rosa by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco. With a libretto by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, it is the first opera composed in the Americas for which the complete score has been preserved. Its premiere took place on 19 October 1701 at Lima’s Palacio Virreinal.

Finally, on Friday 19 June, conference participants will have the opportunity to take part in a guided visit to Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú. Opened in 2011, the venue serves as the principal home of the National Ensembles of Peru’s Ministry of Culture: Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Perú, Ballet Nacional, Coro Nacional, Coro Nacional de Niños, Ballet Folclórico Nacional and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil Bicentenario. The Juvenil Bicentenario will also perform the closing concert.

As part of the conference, and through a collaboration between ILLA – Organizzazione Internazionale Italo-Latino Americana, the Municipality of Lima and OLA, the exhibition Vissi d’Arte: Italia en los teatros de América Latina will open on 16 June. Conceived by Mexican architect and curator María Margarita Segarra, the exhibition explores the Italian historical and cultural legacy in the architecture and development of Latin American theatres between the 19th century and the mid-20th century. The exhibition brings together images of 100 theatres from 19 Latin American countries and will be displayed at Teatro Municipal de Lima and Teatro Manuel A. Segura.

*Vissi d’Arte: Italia en los teatros de América Latina is a project promoted by IILA, with the support of the Direzione Generale per gli Italiani all’Estero e le Politiche Migratorie of Italy’s Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, and in collaboration with the Department of Architecture at Università Roma Tre.