California’s Guild Opera Company will present Giuseppe Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” in concert on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Glendale. The performance, offered free to the public through the support of Darcy and Richard Kopcho, stars baritone David Hodgson as Conte di Luna, tenor David De Melo as Manrico, soprano Emma Berggren as Leonora, {…}
Cellini’s golden “Trovatore” from 1952 is arguably one of the most enduring in discographic history. It has always been a favorite of English-speaking critics, bringing together the Met’s roster of international superstars: Björling, Milanov, Warren, and Barbieri. In Italy, its critical fortune has been more mitigated; yet when pressed, even as staunch a skeptic as the notoriously exacting Elvio Giudici {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced a cast change for its production of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.” The company said that mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk will perform the role of Azucena in all performances, replacing Anita Rachvelishvili who has withdrawn for personal reasons. Semenchuk returns to San Francisco following performances with the company in productions of “ Luisa Miller” “Aida,” and “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Semenchuk joins {…}
(Photo: Franco Lannino) For its summer season Palermo’s Teatro Massimo moves outdoors to the Teatro di Verdura, situated in parkland on the outskirts of the city centre. The cool evening heat, with a gentle breeze blowing in from the sea, along with the theatre’s sizable stage and substantial amount of raked seating with excellent sight lines suggested everything was just {…}