The Festival Verdi is set to present Verdi’s “Attila” in two concert performances.

Riccardo Frizza will return to the festival to conduct after his acclaimed performances of “Simon Boccanegra” in 2022. He will lead a cast that includes Giorgi Manoshvili as Attila, George Petean as Ezio, Marta Torbidoni as Odabella, and Luciano Ganci as Foresto.

Frizza will conduct the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini and the Teatro Regio di Parma Chorus.

In a statement, Frizza said, “Attila, like other early Verdi operas, has always sparked my interest, stated the Maestro just a few days before the opening concert. It’s a ‘patriotic opera’, but careful analysis reveals a certain skepticism behind the composer’s patriotism. The opera was received from the outset with some ambivalence and was later undervalued and performed infrequently, only recently deemed worthy of opening opera seasons. It is the quintessential Venetian opera because it embraces the legend of the city’s birth, set as it is in ‘Rio-Alto, in the Adriatic Lagoons’. From an orchestral perspective, Attila conforms to tradition, with a medium-sized orchestra, but it’s innovative at the same time. I’m thinking of its use of color for expression, which we can find in the description of the storm, and the depiction of the sun rising over the lagoon, with the boats gently rocking on its waves. In Attila, Verdi demonstrated his ability to turn away from operatic tradition if it failed to match the dramatic context, seeking original ideas and inspiration even outside Italy.”

“Attila” will be performed on Oct. 3 and 11, 2024 at the Teatro Magnani, Fidenza.