Fainting spells, love entanglements and a grotesque medley of hymns. This is what happens when composer Gioachino Rossini gathers people from eight countries in one place and prevents them from continuing their journey for absurd reasons.
Can the eponymous journey to Reims for the coronation of Charles X be continued in time? Rossini shows how entertaining waiting can be and that it also provides a good reason to celebrate in his fast-paced, comical opera. Rarely do contemporary events and operatic plots come together as they do here. After all, "Il viaggio a Reims" was written in 1825 as a commissioned work for the extensive celebrations to mark the coronation of Charles X. Where better to stage a dedicated coronation opera than in the coronation city of Aachen, with Reims as a long-standing twin city, in a theater building that was opened in the year of the opera's premiere? Director Michiel Dijkema has made a name for himself with virtuoso comedy productions and knows how to playfully exaggerate the exuberant ensembles and eccentric characters in his artistic visual worlds.
Premiere January 13, 2024
Further performances: January 21 and 26, February 4, 7 and 25, March 24 and 31 and April 7 and 13, 2024
