8, 11 and 14 Nov 2003. Conducted by Corrado Rovaris, directed by Daniele Abbado. The Teatro delle Muse in Ancona is about to inaugurate its second opera season. It opens with Mozart, as it did last year, this time with Il Re Pastore (8, 11, and 14 Nov 2003), one of the operas he wrote in his youth. It will be performed by a young company with plenty of experience, conducted by Corrado Rovaris and directed by Daniele Abbado,

one of the most interesting directors of the young

Italian generation.

Il Re Pastore, which is rarely heard, is made up of beautiful arias that create a pastoral idyll, in line with the libretto by Pietro Metastasio. All the arias have a different structure and in several the voice is in direct competition with the solo instruments. In "Se vincendo vi rendo felici" the tenor dialogues with the flute, and in "Lamer, sar costante", the soprano voice is accompanied by the solo violin. The latter is a beautiful but difficult aria which sopranos include in their concert repertoires whenever possible.