The central conflict engulfs the title character and his love, Elvira, in a veritable love rhombus with a nobleman and the king. Such greatness and fame came, unfortunately, after Ernani, yet also as a result of it this opera is clearly the work of a talented composer but one who is as yet still too inexperienced to find the right music to fit the melodrama of the libretto.Įrnani was based on a play by Victor Hugo, which was historically situated around the reign of Charles V in the 16th century. Indeed, even the least initiated knows “La donna è mobile,” albeit probably from cartoons.

This was his first big hit, leading on to classics such as Rigoletto and La Traviata. Great success came to Verdi as a result of his opera Ernani, which is now back in production at the Lyric Opera. Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s Ernani can be watched free on the OperaVision channel.Through NovemVisually Memorable, Big Choruses The only bravo is for Carlo’s aria in act 3. The chorus, richly costumed in medieval attire, just stand around and bring nothing to the performance. There is no passion, no chemistry and there’s no excitement musically, either on stage or in the orchestra pit.

Hugo De Ana’s old-fashioned production, conducted by Marco Armiliato, is disappointingly lifeless. Bandit and guardian, instead of killing each other, form an unlikely alliance to kill the king. Why is Ernani not revived more often? The arias, duets, trios and ensembles are so melodious.Įlvira (Angela Meade) has three men fighting over her: Ernani (Franceso Meli), a nobleman turned bandit whom she loves Silva (Evgeny Stavinsky), her elderly guardian to whom she is betrothed and loathes and Don Carlo, King of Spain (Ludovic Tézier), who abducts her. In 1844, the 31-year-old Giuseppe Verdi gave operagoers the highly charged, theatrical flood of emotion Victor Hugo’s play needed and established his international reputation.

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