ERNANI Closes This Weekend at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

The rarely performed Ernani is often referred to as Giuseppe Verdi's first masterpiece. The grand master of Italian Romanticism no longer opted for a predominantly political approach, but brought the individual to the fore. Verdi found the ideal raw material in Victor Hugo's play Hernani, ou l'Honneur Castillan, one of the key works of French Romanticism in which the emphasis came to lie on raw and realistic emotions.

To avenge his father's death, the outcast Ernani rebels against the Spanish king Don Carlos. A complex intrigue unfolds: Ernani and Elvira love each other, but Elvira is betrothed to the king's confidant, Silva. When it turns out that Don Carlos also wants to marry Elvira, Ernani ends up in a personal and political tangle that can only end tragically. With brilliant arias, beautiful ensembles and large choral pieces, Verdi created a compelling opera in which theatrical power always prevails.

Conductor Julia Jones and director Barbora Horáková Joly intertwine the opera with a few monologues written especially for this performance by author Peter Verhelst. Ernani promises to be an operatic discovery not to be missed.

Performances run 16 December - 22 January.