Well cast, high-quality singers in Royal Opera Trovatore revival

Riccardo Fassi (Ferrando) and the Royal Opera Chorus

Michael Fabiano (Manrico) and the Royal Opera Chorus

Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Leonora) and Aleksei Isaev (Conte di Luna)

Ryan Vaughan Davies (Ruiz), Michael Fabiano (Manrico) and Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Leonora)

By Mark Valencia, 27 February 2025

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“the black sheep in Verdi’s middle-period flock of triumphs”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 26 February 2025

Verdi, Il trovatore

The Royal Opera

Giacomo Sagripanti, Conductor

Adele Thomas, Director

Annemarie Woods, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Franck Evin, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Royal Opera Chorus

Aleksei Isaev, Il conte di Luna

Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Leonora

Agnieszka Rehlis, Azucena

Michael Fabiano, Manrico

Riccardo Fassi, Ferrando

Valentina Puskás, Ines

Ryan Vaughan Davies, Ruiz

Peter Grimes drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

Christopher Woodley, 5th May

Allan Clayton and Sir Bryn Terfel lead a strong cast in a revival of Deborah Warner's dark staging of Britten's signature work at Covent Garden.

****1

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

The Turn of the Screw at RBO Linbury: Darkness and denial

Eleanor Knight, 26th March

Natalie Abrahami’s mesmerising new production of Britten’s ghostly tale of sexual abuse is very dark indeed.

*****

A riveting Rigoletto revival at the Royal Opera House

Dominic Lowe, 25th March

Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

****1

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden

Mark Pullinger, 29th January

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight.

****1

More reviews...

Mark Valencia

Mark has worked in arts journalism for four decades, both as a writer and as a French-English translator. Nowadays he focuses his energies on reviewing opera and music. Mark also writes for Opera magazine and for Musical America as a correspondent for Europe and the UK.

Well cast, high-quality singers in The Royal Opera’s Trovatore revival