Italian pianist-turned-artistic director Umberto Fanni has his eyes set on premiering the world’s first global opera production.

Once a touted concert pianist, Fanni is currently director general of the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman, where he is working on his latest large-scale international project, looking to bridge the gap between global opera performances.

During his first visit to Korea, Fanni is consulting with the head of the Korea National Opera about the state-run opera’s participation in what would be a historic opera, involving famed opera houses from across the globe in a world premiere production.

“There are a lot of coproductions in the world -- two theaters coming together to make a production. But there’s really no worldwide coproduction,” said Fanni, during an interview with The Korea Herald at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul on Sunday. “This project would be the first in the world.”

“In my vision, the project has to involve the four main continents in the world -- Asia, Middle East, Europe and the Americas,” he continued. “At the moment, I’ve gotten confirmation for this coproduction opera from seven theatres in these continents, including my final stop here in Korea to meet with members of the Korea National Opera, who thankfully said they were very interested in participating.” 

Although Fanni said he is not yet able to reveal what opera production he is currently preparing for this upcoming multiparty venture, he said, “It’s a rare title piece, not often performed in opera houses.” With the exception of the opera’s original libretto, the production will feature a completely new set, costuming and choreography.

The production is tentatively scheduled to make its world premiere sometime at the end of 2017, and is expected to be performed during different seasons at each of the participating opera houses, including KNO and the Seoul Arts Center.

“For me, Korean vocals are most related to the Western way of singing opera,” Fanni said. “During my seasons in Italy, I invited a lot of Korean singers. I find that they have very wonderful timbre and very good technique, which is why I felt we really need Korean singers to be involved in this production.” 

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)