One of the nation’s most innovative opera companies, Odyssey Opera, continues Trial by Fire: Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years’ War, a season-long exploration of operatic works inspired by martyr, saint, and military leader Joan of Arc (1412-1431). For two nights, Odyssey Opera presents a fully-staged Italian-language performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s neglected opera, L’assedio di Calais (1836). Based on Luigi Marchionni’s play L’assedio di Calais (The Siege of Calais) with libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, this rarely-heard Italian bel canto work has undeservedly been absent from the operatic stage. Conducted by Gil Rose with full orchestra and chorus and directed by Joshua Major, L’assedio di Calais features three singers making their company debut: baritone James Westman (Mayor of Calais), mezzo-soprano Magda Gartner (Aurelio) and Lucia Cesaroni (Eleanora).