Composed in the same flurry of activity that gave the world Rigoletto and La traviata, Il trovatore (1853) is one of Verdi’s very finest operas. It is also one of the most expansive and dramatic in the entire repertoire, swollen to Shakespearian dimensions. As part of their 2016 summer season, the Royal Opera House has commissioned a new production of the great musical drama, directed by Covent Garden debutant David Bösch – an acclaimed voice in German theatre. Staged in a haunting winter, it aims to underscore the hauntingly bittersweet results of personal and political conflict on the central characters.

Set in fifteenth century Biscay and Aragon, La trovatore’s action is set up by a traumatic past event. When a Count’s youngest child falls ill, he blames a gypsy and has her wrongly burnt at the stake. She tasks her daughter Azucena with avenging her by killing the child, but in her confused grief Azucena burns her own baby instead. She raises the old Count’s son, Manrico, who becomes an officer for the Count’s enemies and the troubadour of the opera’s title. It is at this point the action begins, as the present Count battles Manrico for the affections of the noble Leonora. Tensions both romantic and military heat to a boil as the two men fight over love and land, unaware that they are in fact brothers until the tragedy reaches its catastrophic denouncement.

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A large cast has been assembled for this production, with the four central roles split between two singers each. Soprano Lianna Haroutounian will play Leonora – whose delicate prayer ‘D’amor sull’ali rosee’ has become a sainted gem – alongside the recently annonched Anna Pirozzi. The heroic part of Manrico will be shared by tenor Francesco Meli (Rigoletto) and Covent Garden debutant Gregory Kunde. Zeljko Lucic and Christopher Maltman will take the baritone role of the Count, while mezzos Marina Prudenskaja and Ekaterina Sememchuk complete the cast as Azucena. Gianandrea Noseda conducts. With high drama, boisterous gypsy melodies and plaintive love songs, Il trovatore is a must for all opera-goers. This production should not disappoint.

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