Marina by Umberto Giordano

Forgotten for almost 140 years, the rediscovery of Giordano’s first opera ‘Marina’ is one of the operatic highlights of the year. Recorded at the world premiere performances at Milan’s historic Teatro dal Verme in February 2026. Star soprano Eleonora Buratto sings the title role – “a prima donna of extraordinary elegance, nobility, and interpretive intelligence” (Operawire), Freddie De Tommaso is “dark, handsome, very Italianate, harking back to the big voices of the ’50s and ’60s such as Franco Corelli and Mario Del Monaco” (Gramophone). Giordano was just 21 when he composed this one act opera for a competition in 1888 eventually won by Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Its plot is pure verismo: a story of love torn apart by war.