From May 25th to June 1st, Martijn conducted five performances of Così fan tutte at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, concluding the Mozart–Da Ponte trilogy he began in 2023. Presented at the Comunale Nouveau, the production, staged by Alessandro Talevi, was met with public and critical acclaim. The press unanimously praised his conducting for its elegance, clarity, and stylistic finesse.

He was hailed for “a solid, energetic, and propulsive baton, never faltering, yet always attentive to the most delicate and lyrical moments” (Il Resto del Carlino). Giornale della Musica praised “a dazzling command of the score, shaping each phrase with sober precision and expert insight,” and for creating “an orchestral texture full of colour and inner dialogue, revealing all the music’s internal symmetries and emotional complexity.”

L’Ape Musicale noted “the tension and psychological depth” in his interpretation, calling it “authentic and sincere, even where it dares to cut deep into the score’s emotional undercurrents.” GBOpera described his conducting as “brilliant, full of life and invention,” with “remarkable control of balance and dynamics in favour of the singers,” calling the trilogy “undoubtedly the most significant theatrical achievement of the Comunale Nouveau era.”
Music Paper Magazine wrote that “the radiant centre of the production was the sovereign skill of the young Belgian conductor,” praising “the miracle-working left hand that shaped phrases, propelled the orchestra, and inspired the voices on stage.”

OperaTraveller highlighted “the sheer poetry of the wind playing and the constant interplay of textures,” noting a “physicality to Dendievel’s conducting that was simply irresistible.”

The cast featured Mariangela Sicilia, Vito Priante, Marco Ciaponi, and Nahuel Di Pierro, amongst others, and was widely praised for its stylistic finesse and vocal colour, supported by orchestral dynamics that were carefully balanced to suit the venue’s acoustics.

With this Così fan tutte, Dendievel brought a thoughtful and distinctive close to the Mozart–Da Ponte trilogy in Bologna. He will return to the Teatro Comunale in November to conduct Puccini’s La Bohème.