The Bilbao Opera is set to Present Donizetti’s “La Favorite.”

The work will be presented from Feb. 15 to 24, 2025 at the Euskalduna Bilbao and will star Silvia Tro Santafé in the role of Leonore, alongside Ismael Jordi as Fernand, Vladimir Stoyanov as Alphonse XI, and Simón Orfila as Balthazar. The cast is rounded out by tenor Mikeldi Atxalandabaso and soprano Alba Chantar.

Riccardo Frizza conducts the work in a critical edition by Rebecca Harris-Warrick, which includes ballet music and a cabaletta in Léonor and Alphonse’s duet. The production is by Valentina Carrasco, who debuts at the Bilbao Opera. The production was originally shown at the Donizetti Opera Fesival and later at the Opéra National de Bordeaux.

Of the production’s 2022 iteration, OperaWire noted, “Carrasco proposes a parallel with the invisibility of the elderly in our time when life expectancy has greatly increased, but not that much is done to increase the quality of life for elder people. Not to remain unsubstantiated, the director invites real women of Bergamo to take part in the performance, and it’s them who flooded the stage with their truly powerful presence. You can never say that they are not professional actors, they give themself generously, not less than the main heroine.”

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• Donizetti Festival 2022 Review: La Favorite