Il Trovatore

Verdi’s charged drama of family strife and forbidden love stars tenor Michael Fabiano as Manrico, the bold troubadour unwittingly at war with his own brother. Sopranos Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Angela Meade share the role of the noble Leonora, with mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton and Olesya Petrova trading off as Manrico’s tormented mother, Azucena. Baritone Igor Golovatenko is the unbending Count di Luna, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as the soldier Ferrando. Italian conductor Daniele Callegari leads David McVicar’s Goya-inspired staging.

World premiere: Teatro Apollo, Rome, 1853. Verdi’s turbulent tragedy of four characters caught in a web of family ties, politics and love is a mainstay of the operatic repertory. The score is as melodic as it is energetic, with infectious tunes that are not easily forgotten. The vigorous music accompanies a dark and disturbing tale that revels in many of the most extreme expressions of Romanticism, including violent shifts in tone, unlikely coincidences and characters who are impelled by raw emotion rather than cool logic.