Simone Young conduct Ernani's first ever performance in Frankfurt

The fifth opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) marked a new beginning in his artistic development: Ernani was performed for the first time on March 9th 1844 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. This was the beginning of Verdi's collaboration with Francesco Maria Piave, whose libretto was based on Victor Hugo's play Hernani (1830). It was one of the most popular of Verdi's operas in Italy for a long time; best known is Elvira's opening aria „Ernani! Ernani, involami“. Ernani almost immediately started being performed abroad, in London, Brussels and Berlin in 1845, followed by productions in Paris and Budapest in 1846 and in New York a year later. Now the work can be heard in Frankfurt for the first time.

Ernani, an outlawed young aristocrat and leader of a band of robbers in the Aragón mountains, rebels against King Carlos. His beloved Elvira is to marry the elderly Don Ruy Gomez de Silva, but the King is also keen to win her affections. Ernani wants revenge – the dominant theme in this opera, which ends in a tragic finale: Carlos, now crowned Emperor, rehabilitates Ernani and grants him Elvira's hand in marriage; but the humiliated Silva appears while the couple celebrates their wedding in Saragossa. His thirst for revenge destroys the newly married couple's happiness. In triumph he forces Ernani to commit suicide because of an oath he had sworn.

The Australian conductor Simone Young was Intendant and General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera until 2015. Recent engagements have taken her to the Berlin, Munich and Vienna State Operas and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Alfred Kim was a Member of the Ensemble at Oper Frankfurt until 2013. He will also be singing Ernani at the Théâtre du
Capitole in Toulouse. He sings Radames in Verdi's Aida at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in Brussels and Santiago de Chile and future projects include Calaf in Puccini's Turandot at Covent Garden. Quinn Kelsey (Don Carlos) is known to audiences in Frankfurt for his Montfort in Verdi's The Sicilian Vespers (2012/13), Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and a recital (2015/16). This Hawaiian baritone will be back in Frankfurt in the spring of 2017 for the title role in a new production of Verdi's Rigoletto, a role he then sings at San Francisco Opera. The South African soprano Elza van den Heever (Elvira), a Member of the Ensemble at Oper Frankfurt until 2014, returns regularly as a guest. Future engagements include Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The cast also includes Ensemble Members Kihwan Sim (Silva) and Maria Pantiukhova (Giovanna), who recently thrilled audiences here in Bizet's Carmen – respectively Escamillo and the title role.

Performances: Friday January 20th 2017, and Sunday January 22nd 2017, both performances begin at 19.00hrs in the Opera House. Tickets cost: € 15 to € 115 (with a 12.5% pre-booking fee when not purchased direct from the theatre)