R. STRAUSS`S ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (BACCHUS) AT TEATRO DELL´OPERA DI ROMA 02-03/2026

                                          Conductor Maxime Pascal & director David Hermann

                                                           THE REVIEWS OF THE PRODUCTION:

    "Perfectly suited to the role, dark-toned and stage-charismatic, Tuomas Katajala is a musically majestic Bacchus: beautiful, almost cursed, and physically sensually believable in the face of the protagonist’s love-driven turmoil. He also masters the challenging high register effortlessly and with heroic self-assurance. Although Strauss gives Bacchus a part that is heavy and less impactful compared to the female roles, Katajala manages to bring out the very best from it."

                                                                           - Emiliano Metalli / Banquo.it                                                                   


"Tuomas Katajala (Bacchus) is a Finnish tenor who, after Rossini and Mozart, is now moving into Weber, Wagner, and Strauss – and not without reason, one could say, as his voice has powerful volume, excellent projection, and a beautiful silvery timbre."

                                                                    - Maurizio Modugno / Rivistamusica.com


"Alongside her, Tuomas Katajala interprets Bacchus with a convincing use of his voice and takes command of the notoriously demanding role. His stage presence helps create an almost visionary atmosphere in the finale, which follows the transformation of tragedy into the manifestation of love."

                                                             
                                                              - Loredana Margheriti / Progettoitalianews.net


"The sad and painful aspect of the story emerges in the sorrowful and inconsolable Arianna, performed by Axelle Fanyo, who dominates the score until the rescuing baritenor Tuomas Katajala in the role of Bacchus arrives. His warm, full, and well-projected voice brings a resolution to the drama and carries it to an emotionally stirring, happy ending."

                                                                           - Alessandro Murzi / Viviroma.it


"Healing Ariadne's heart is not the work of mortals but a divine task – Bacchus'. It is carried out by Tuomas Katajala, whose voice can be described as deep and reassuring.
Placed in the modern era, in jeans and a shirt, Bacchus is built above all on voice. Without exaggerated visual means, Katajala creates his character purely through vocal means – a choice that highlights his vocal strengths and lets the voice carry the entire stage effect."

                                                            - Francesca Romana Moretti / Quartapareteroma.it


"The opening night cast was first-class. The duet, performed by soprano Axelle Fanyo (Ariadne) and tenor Tuomas Katajala (Bacchus), was very well sung, although the director’s choices could have emphasised the pathos of the scene more. Katajala displayed a beautiful lyric voice, which he carried faultlessly throughout this demanding role."

                                                                            - Pia Maltri / Bachtrack.com


"The cast consisted of specialists in this operatic genre. The score includes many characters, two of which were assigned to the same singer: they appear in the prologue and in the following opera as Primadonna–Ariadne and Tenor–Bacchus. These two roles in particular achieved the most spectacular success of the evening for their performers.
..The same applies to the Finnish tenor Tuomas Katajala, who brought consistency to his two roles, Tenor and Bacchus. He also succeeded in performing the final duet convincingly together with Fanyo, which is one of the most demanding passages of the opera."
                                                                      - Claudio Listanti / Aboutartonline.com


"Ariadne sings the lament of the abandoned woman as a long outpouring of tears, stemming from noble 18th-century models but carrying more clearly the influence of Ludwig van Beethoven. This continues at least until Bacchus arrives on stage – performed by tenor Tuomas Katajala – a beautiful young man who has disembarked from a ship, the Dionysian love of that unpredictable union which Zerbinetta had foretold. However, Ariadne mistakes him for the god of death, a terrifying figure wandering in a black peplos.
The god of wine and ecstasy (Katajala) delivers his vocal line with natural voice production, maintaining good intonation in all the difficult passages leading toward the emerging love. The scene, which forms a significant and self-contained episode – a long and demanding duet with Ariadne – tests the performers’ skills severely. It drives the music toward the height of passion and concludes, as the events resolve, in an atmosphere of divine transformation.
The transition to another dimension occurs gradually through increasing vocal and orchestral pathos, which is highly captivating, warm, and intense.
The performance is realized with brilliant vocal technique, sensitivity, and technical mastery – like renewed interpreters of Tristan und Isolde."
                                                                        - Cinzia Dichiara / Tusciatimes.eu


"Tuomas Katajala has an excellent voice, which allows for an outstanding performance of the role of Bacchus: in the final duet, the Finnish singer – whose central repertoire consists of Richard Wagner’s operas, as those who heard him in the role of the Helmsman in Der fliegende Holländer at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia will remember – sings centered, ethereal phrases, supported by a full and brightly resonant middle voice."

                                                                        - Stefano Ceccarelli / Apemusicale.it