Donizetti: La Favorite

In the autumn of 2016 the Bavarian State Opera staged Donizetti's La Favorite in the original French version, with Elna Garana making her debut in the title role in a staged production of this grand opéra. Director Amélie Niermeyer's dense and minutely choreographed production had the intimacy of a chamber opera, the tiniest gestures shedding light on the action and allowing Niermeyer to bring out the opera's feminist potential. Alongside the Fernand of Matthew Polenzani and the Alphonse of Mariusz Kwiecie, Elna Garana painted the portrait of a woman who, able to see through others' motives, is overcome by disillusionment but who by controlling her two lovers succeeds in remaining their superior.