A hit in 2022, “The Love for Three Oranges” by Prokofiev returns to São Paulo’s Theatro Municipal — from February 27 to March 7, 2026.
Four years after winning over São Paulo audiences, The Love for Three Oranges (L’Amour des Trois Oranges) by Sergei Prokofiev returns to the stage at the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. The revival opens on Friday, February 27, at 8 PM, running through March 7, 2026.
Reviving, not merely restaging
The production concept comes from actor and stage director Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, a prominent figure across Brazilian theater and film. Ronaldo Zero handles stage direction, while Roberto Minczuk leads the Municipal Symphony Orchestra and the Municipal Lyric Choir as musical director.
For Zero, the challenge in 2026 is distinct from what it was in 2022. “One of the central axes of the work is the so-called ‘war of languages’: the dispute between the Tragedians, Comedians, the Absurdists, and the Romantics for control of the narrative. The great challenge in 2026 is to keep the production alive, fresh, and vibrant in a world where everything becomes obsolete very quickly,” he explains. “At the same time, there is the pleasure of returning to a production I know deeply, that I helped build, and that continues to offer new layers of meaning. The Love for Three Oranges remains relevant precisely because it refuses to be stable.”
A story centuries in the making
The opera has a remarkably layered origin. Its plot draws from a 17th-century tale by Italian author Giambattista Basile, later adapted for the stage by Carlo Gozzi a century later. Prokofiev set it to music and, alongside Brazilian soprano Vera Janacópulos — a key figure in introducing composers like Villa-Lobos to European audiences — translated the libretto into Russian and French.
The plot is equal parts fable, parody, and sharp irony: a King desperately tries to cure his son’s melancholy by summoning characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, sorcerers, and witches. The result is a joyful celebration of humor’s power in art.
When the orchestra tells the story
Conductor Roberto Minczuk underscores that, in Prokofiev, the orchestra does not simply accompany — it narrates. “Prokofiev’s writing, considered a stroke of genius in creativity and orchestration, always composes music that tells the story in its finest details. The Love for Three Oranges is so symphonic that its most memorable part — the one most people know — is not a great aria or chorus, as is usually the case, but the famous symphonic march: the best-known theme in the entire opera, and it is purely orchestral and instrumental.”
Why revivals matter
General director of the Theatro Municipal complex, Andrea Caruso Saturnino, champions the institution’s commitment to reviving past successes. “It is very important that an opera house like the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo be capable of restaging the hits of previous seasons. In addition to making use of much of what is already in our collection, revivals extend the life of artistic visions and allow works a second opportunity to meet the public.”
Showtimes & Tickets
The Love for Three Oranges
Venue: Main Hall — Theatro Municipal de São Paulo
Dates and times:
Feb 27 (Friday), 8 PM
Feb 28 (Saturday), 5 PM
Mar 1 (Sunday), 5 PM
Mar 3 (Tuesday), 8 PM
Mar 4 (Wednesday), 8 PM
Mar 6 (Friday), 8 PM
Mar 7 (Saturday), 5 PM
Tickets: BRL 47 to BRL 290 (full price)
Duration: Approximately 2h15 (with intermission)
Age rating: Not recommended for children under 12 (may contain physical aggression, implied drug use, and mild sexual suggestion)
Photo: Rafael Salvador/Disclosure
