Melbourne Opera's Il Trovatore arrives at the Athenaeum Theatre across four August dates, dedicated to the memory of Dame Joan Sutherland.
Few operas run as hot as Il Trovatore, and Melbourne Opera is bringing Verdi’s tale of love and vengeance back.
Il Trovatore has been dedicated to the memory of Dame Joan Sutherland in celebration of her centenary year. One of the finest sopranos the world has known, she was a founding patron of Melbourne Opera and sang Leonora, the opera’s doomed noblewoman, to acclaim across several decades.
Matthew Barclay directs, arriving with recent credits at Sydney Festival, Opera Australia and West Australian Opera. Helena Dix, back living in Melbourne after years in London, returns to the company as Leonora, opposite Rosario La Spina as Manrico, the troubadour of the title. La Spina took home a Green Room Award for his Samson in Melbourne Opera’s Samson et Dalila in 2025.
Il Trovatore
- 23 August, Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
- 26 August, Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
- 28 August, Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
- 30 August, Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
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Sarah Sweeting takes on Azucena, the tormented figure at the opera’s core, following three Green Room nominations. Christopher Hillier sings Conte di Luna, with Steven Gallop as Ferrando and Amanda Windred, a former Richard Divall Program artist, as Ines.
The story turns on four figures locked in mistaken revenge: Manrico, his mother Azucena, the noblewoman Leonora, and Count di Luna, Manrico’s rival and Leonora’s would-be captor. Doomed romance and bitter rivalry collide from there.
Raymond Lawrence conducts the Melbourne Opera Orchestra and Chorus through some of the repertoire’s most celebrated writing, including the arias Di quella pira, Stride la vampa and Tacea la notte placida, alongside the rousing Anvil Chorus. The production is sung in Italian with English surtitles.
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