Ernani (Feb. 25, 2012)

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave

Armiliato; Meade, Giordani, Hvorostovsky, Furlanetto

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 22 min.

Rising Met star Angela Meade is Elvira, the young woman caught between three men: her lover, the nobleman-turned-outlaw Ernani (Marcello Giordani); her guardian, the rich, elderly de Silva, who wants her for himself (Ferruccio Furlanetto); and Don Carlo, the King of Spain, who also desires Elvira (Dmitri Hvorostovsky). Verdi’s early drama is full of sweeping melody and rousing rhythms, delivered masterfully by the Met Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Marco Armiliato.