Francisco Negrin’s essential production of Il Trovatore made a grand return to close the opening weekend of the Macerata Opera Festival, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski, the last heir to a great dynasty of Russian conductors and one of the world’s most highly regarded conductors. Taking to the stage for Verdi’s great tragedy is a cast of accomplished singers, led by the tenor Piero Pretti and the Marche-born soprano Marta Torbidoni, now a rising star on the most prestigious international stages such as La Scala, where she has starred in major productions in recent years.

The opening weekend of the 62nd Macerata Opera Festival therefore draws to a close on Sunday 19 July with a revival of Il Trovatore – a geometric and minimalist production by the Mexican director Francisco Negrin, previously staged at the Sferisterio in 2013 and 2016 – with Maestro Dmitri Jurowski conducting and a cast of great strength and proven experience, led by the celebrated Italian tenor Piero Pretti in the title role of Manrico, alternating on 31 July with the young Chinese singer Haiyang Guo, already highly regarded by La Scala audiences, the theatre where he developed professionally from his time at the Academy. Also appearing will be the established baritone Vito Priante as the Count of Luna, the increasingly celebrated soprano from the Marche region, Marta Torbidoni, as Leonora, and the young Sofija Petrovich as Azucena, an artist whose career is steadily on the rise following her significant debuts at the Opéra de Paris; followed by the young Korean bass Dongho Kim as Ferrando, already highly regarded in Verdi roles; the very young Alessia Camarin as Ines, one of the most interesting voices of the new generation; Simone Fenotti, another promising young talent of great calibre, as Ruiz; and finally Mauro Sagripanti as the Messenger. Negrin’s sombre Il Trovatore, brought to life above all by Bruno Poet’s skilful lighting design – restaged for the occasion by Marc Heimendinger – continues the project of Verdi’s Trilogia Popolare launched by Artistic Director Marco Vinco last year with Rigoletto and which will therefore conclude in ’27 with *La Traviata*. The Mexican director thus presents a minimalist production that eschews any folkloric references in order to focus the audience’s attention on the timeless nature of the protagonists’ psychological dilemmas, as they are torn between the weight of the past and the need for a present free from such burdens: “Il trovatore represents the weight of the past: a past that haunts us, a past that destroys any possibility of a present, a future or love. Only Leonora, like Beethoven’s Leonore in Fidelio,  understands that love and the present are the only path to follow. Leonora helps Manrico to walk this path with her; but Azucena, haunted by the memory of her mother and son being burnt alive, is the conduit through which the past casts its fiery net and ultimately consumes them. The mistakes we make when we refuse to live our present freely are repeated, like the refrains of the troubadours’ ballads.”

Conductor Jurowski also emphasises the timeless and absolute qualities of Verdi’s music: ‘The music of *Il Trovatore* possesses an emotional power, a melodious intensity and a sombre atmosphere that mirror the tragedy and the persistent conflict of the libretto.’