Vitalij Kowaljow

Based on a play by Victor Hugo, Verdi's Ernani was an immediate success, and as his most popular and frequently performed opera it became a cornerstone of his burgeoning reputation in the mid-1800s. Contemporary critics remarked that 'coming out of the theatre, people were already singing [those] catchy tunes ... Few scores have made a stronger, more powerful impression.' Ernani is a dramatic and intensely memorable tale of rebellion and romance -...