One of the most in-demand sopranos of our times, Anna Netrebko has been performing at New York's Metropolitan Opera since 2002. She has sung the roles of Juliette, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Norina in Don Pasquale, and featured in three consecutive season-opening performances as Anna Bolena, Tatyana and Adina. Now she can be seen and heard in a long-awaited role as the Verdi heroine Leonora, who sacrifices her life for the love of the Gypsy troubadour. The part of the ill-fated Manrico will be played by Yonghoon Lee, who made his debut at the Met in 2010 in the title role of another Verdi opera, Don Carlos. We can admire the South Korean tenor's astonishing vocal faculties in the famous aria that closes the third act with a high C. His rival, Count di Luna, will be brought to life by Netrebko's sometime partner and fellow Russian, the fantastic baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whom we will also have the chance to enjoy in person at an aria evening at Müpa Budapest in the 2015/16 season. The mysterious Azucena, the Gypsy woman with the shady past which is perhaps the greatest mezzo-soprano role in the opera repertoire, will be sung by Dolora Zajick, one of the finest singers of Verdi today, who has this very same role to thank for her international stardom.
Caruso once said that the performance of Il Trovatore, known to enthrall audiences with its bravura musical numbers, large choruses and hair-raising dramatic climaxes, requires the four greatest singers in the world. Taking charge of this production - inspired by the vision of Francisco Goya - is David McVicar, who earned a knighthood for his rich body of work as an opera director. The conductor is Marco Armiliato, an artist much sought after by the world's leading opera houses.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest