Giuseppe Verdi: IL TROVATORE, opera

Cast:
Il Conte di Luna: Leon Kim
Leonora: Carolina Lopez Moreno
Manrico: Angelos Samartzis
Acuzena: Olesya Petrova
Ferrando: Giorgi Manoshvili
Ines: Olha Smokolina
Ruiz: Alfonso Zambut

Composed in 1853, Il Trovatore  is one of the works in which Verdi, with dramaturgical effectiveness, associated specific keys with particular figures or groups in order to clearly represent the differences between the characters and the social ranks they occupied. This year’s performance of the opera is by the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in collaboration with director Stefania Grazioli, in a revival of the production originally directed by Cesare Lievi. The latter has described Il Trovatore  as a nocturnal opera in which the characters move in a desolate landscape. The orchestra will be conducted by the legendary maestro Zubin Mehta,  who has already appeared several times in Ljubljana and at the Festival. During his most recent visit, in 2019, the great Indian conductor received the Golden Order of Merit from then president of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, in recognition of his supreme contribution to musical performance. The chorus will be directed by Lorenzo Fratini. The main roles will be sung by Leon Kim, who after completing his bachelor’s degree in his native Korea went on to pursue specialised studies in Italy, where he has won several prizes (including first prize at the Cappuccilli-Patanè-Respighi Competition); Carolina López Moreno, who has performed in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall and the Berliner Philharmonie (Berlin Philharmonic); Angelos Samartzis, who has sung leading roles in operas such as La forza del destino,  Faust  and Das Rheingold;  and Olesya Petrova, who has worked with acclaimed conductors such as Giordano Bellincampi, Emmanuel Villaume and Valery Gergiev.