Alessandro Spina

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Nabucco (2009) Parma. NABUCCO was Verdi’s third work for the stage and proved his first great success when performed in 1842. It deals with the Hebrew’s attempts to break free from the yoke of their Babylonian oppressors and is nowadays numbered among Verdi’s most popular works, not least on account of its famous Chorus of Hebrew Slaves, which has one of the best-loved melodies in the whole history of opera.

Written for exceptional singers, Il Trovatore has remained popular ever since its first performance at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 19 January 1853, when even the toughest critics were convinced of its place in the repertoire. People are attracted to Il Trovatore because of its rousing melodies, its brutal, powerful plot, and its simple structure: elements that make it one of the best examples of Verdi’s theatre pieces. Recorded live at the Sferisterio theatre of Macerata in the summer of 2016, under conductor Daniel Oren's vibrant and incisive direction, this production boasts a first-rate cast and elegant direction from Francisco Negrin. The sets and costumes by Louis Désiré and lighting by Bruno Poet were well received by the Sferisterio audience.

The Opéra Royal de Wallonie presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. Stage director Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera's production features a talented cast led by Patrizia Ciofi as Mimi and Gianluca Terranova as Rodolfo. Considered by some to be Puccini's best score, La Bohème is one of his best-known works. Premiered at Turin's Teatro Regio in 1896, the opera draws its plot from Henri Murger's Scènes de la vie de bohème. The story is set in Paris' Latin Quarter, where comedy and tragedy live side by side, and its main characters live on a heady mixture of love, dreams, and disillusionment.