Maltese critic Albert G. Storace reviews the production of Il Trovatore as part of Gaulitana: A Festival of Music 2026
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The performance of Verdi’s Il Trovatore at Gozo’s Aurora Opera House was the penultimate event of the 19th edition of the Gaulitana Festival of Music whose Artistic Director Colin Attard was also at the helm of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (leader Marcelline Agius).
While the opera was staged to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi in 1901, this production marked the 10th Gaulitana Festival’s opera performance staged towards the end of every edition since 2015. The series was interrupted in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid. Every performance has also been preceded by a pre-opera talk.
Verdi’s so-called “middle period” remains forever associated with his marvellous trilogy when his Rigoletto was premiered in Venice in March 1851, Il Trovatore in Rome in January 1853 and La Traviata in Venice less than two months later. The convoluted plot of Il Trovatore is a very dark one but “dressed” in very beautiful music, unforgettable arias and very rich in choruses, all but two of which exclusive realm of the males with, the females heard only in the lively Anvil Chorus and as Nuns both in Act 2. Regarding the Gaulitanus Choir this numbered almost fifty, very much on cue and well-trained by Colin Attard.
Well, just as well-prepared were the principal singers who sang and interpreted their parts very well. Also convincingly projected, such as tenor Marco Berti’s Manrico, the troubadour of the title. Rather oddly he is supposedly the son of the gypsy Azucena (mezzo-soprano Silvia Beltrami). However Manrico at times suspects he is not really her son. Beltrami was on great form, motherly and obsessed with avenging her mother.
Manrico is the deadly rival of the Conde de Luna (baritone Mario Cassi, also on great form) and who was very good at being the baddy, very keen on eliminating his rival. Verdi composed one of his greatest arias for him, Il balen del suo sorriso, an outpouring of love for Leonora who does not reciprocate his love because of Manrico. This love triangle dominates the action. Add to it Azucena’s lingering resentment and lust to avenge her mother’s burning at the stake by order of de Luna’s late father. This creates some very hot situations.
Leonora was well-portrayed by soprano Francesca Dotto. In her arias, duets and a trio in Act 1 she sang clearly with no effort. Good acting too like all the principals. Manrico sang to her a hearfelt Ah si ben mio. He was all thunder and fury in Di quella pira, with its famous, final high C which Verdi never wrote, but, neither did he ever try to stop tenors from singing it. The last duet of Leonora with de Luna in Act 4 was very dramatic and the last duet she had with Manrico (Miserere) with a subdued male chorus was very tragic and mournful.
Ferrando, the Conte de Luna’s tall and soldiers’ Captain of the Guard was in fine fettle too. Smaller roles were entrusted to mezzo-soprano Clare Ghigo as Iñéz. Leonora’s confidante, and tenor Giosuè Agius. What they had to do was comparatively smaller but they did it very well. Smaller still were the roles of An old gypsy (Rocco Melileo) and Claudio Corsaro as a messenger.
The well-known set director and designer was Enrico Castiglione. His sets were simple but very functioned perfectly allowing rapid manual adjustments plus slick clearing or crowding the stage. The stage crew and lights department functioned well too. What made me wonder is how Leonora, Azucena and Iñés wore the same outfit from beginning, so did de Luna while Manrico partially changed attire once. Leonora and the Count looked very much 1430-ish. Regarding one of the principals, Azucena looked a bit too young and could have been made to look a bit older for the role. The soldiers looked a bit anachronistic, not 1430-ish but at least a millennium apart..
The MPO as always, did a splendid job under Colin Attard’s fine direction. So did singers and chorus. I was not feeling too well, which has nothing to do with certain observations above. The beauty of the music and gripping, dramatic unfolding of the story was very soothing.
Albert G. Storace
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