Ernani review – sterling singing triumphs over Verdi’s implausible plot
Shifted from 16th-century Spain to a present-day oligarchy by director Jamie Manton, the titular aristocrat turned bandit is hell bent on love and revenge
June 2024
Un Giorno di Regno review – fizzing revival of Verdi’s failed comedy
Whileit might have been cancelled after the premiere in 1840, Christopher Alden’s frenetic staging, an effervescent Philharmonia Orchestra and a fine cast show there’s a decent evening’s entertainment in there
April 2024
Simon Boccanegra review – vast forces bring Verdi’s ‘fiasco’ to vivid life
The week in classical: Netrebko, Kaufmann and Pappano thrill in Salzburg
December 2023
Italian opera singing joins pizza-making on UN cultural heritage list
Unesco describes art form as ‘means of free expression’ with cultural value ‘recognised at national and international levels’
October 2023
La Traviata review – radical revival powered by outstanding performers
Painstakingly restored by Ruth Knight for ENO, Peter Konwitschny’s production pares the Verdi opera down to its absolute essence
September 2023
Falstaff review – Opera North puts a twinkle in Sir John’s eye in gleeful – and green – staging
La Forza del Destino review – superb voices and slick dance routines for Loy’s reimagined Verdi
July 2023
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera review – Freddie De Tommaso stars in lustrous lockdown tragicomedy
Don Carlo review – Lise Davidsen doesn’t disappoint in Verdi’s sprawling masterpiece
June 2023
Il trovatore review – cruelty played out with anarchic imagination
Adele Thomas’s visually arresting production mixes levity with tragedy, as fervent orchestral play is matched by expressive singing from a fine cast
February 2023
Italian opera houses plan Verdi shows to help government buy composer’s home
Cities across the country will host concerts to raise funds that will preserve Verdi’s home of 50 years for the nation
July 2022
Stop pandering to purists, says Royal Opera House’s first black Otello
Otello review – a truly compelling and long overdue revival
May 2022
Giuseppe Verdi’s house in Italy up for sale, ending quarrel among heirs
Composer lived in Villa Verdi near Busseto for 50 years and it has been run as a museum while owners argued
January 2022
Rigoletto review – powerful update, led by stellar duo, is a revelation
Underlining the otherness of Verdi’s court jester by making him a black man is a masterstroke by Femi Elufowoju, the leads sung with potency by Eric Greene and Jasmine Habersham
December 2021
Travesty or tragedy? What Egypt thinks of Verdi’s Aida
Premiered in Cairo 150 years ago, set in an exoticised ancient Egypt and written by a man who refused to visit the country for fear of ‘being mummified’, the beloved opera has left a complex legacy in the country its drama is set
October 2021
La Traviata review – Oropesa and Avetisyan are exceptional in impassioned Verdi
This revival of Richard Eyre’s handsome staging features two exceptional leads in Lisette Oropesa and Liparit Avetisyan, amply supported by conductor Antonello Manacorda
August 2021
Luisa Miller review – Verdi’s dark tragedy gains focus and ferocity in stark staging
Mané Galoyan is a revelation as Luisa, a radiant presence in Christof Loy’s production with a slimmed down but still striking London Philharmonic Orchestra
July 2020
Know the score
Verdi: where to start with his music
This week we turn to the Shakespeare of opera, a composer whose glorious gift for melodies and compassionate gaze celebrates life in all its variety
