Italian soprano Martina Gresia appears as Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore at the Macerata Opera Festival on 25 July 2026. The performance takes place at the Arena Sferisterio in Macerata as part of the festival’s revival of Francisco Negrin’s 2013 production.
Dmitri Jurowsky conducts the FORM-Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana and the Coro Lirico Marchigiano “Vincenzo Bellini.” Angela Saroglou directs the revival, with sets and costumes by Louis Désiré and lighting by Bruno Poet. The cast includes Piero Pretti as Manrico, Vito Priante as the Count di Luna, Sofija Petrović as Azucena, and Dongho Kim as Ferrando.
Performance Details
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Opera | Il trovatore |
| Composer | Giuseppe Verdi |
| Artist | Martina Gresia |
| Role | Leonora |
| Festival | Macerata Opera Festival |
| Venue | Arena Sferisterio, Macerata |
| Featured performance | 25 July 2026 |
| Time | 21:00 |
| Conductor | Dmitri Jurowsky |
| Stage director | Francisco Negrin |
| Revival director | Angela Saroglou |
| Sets and costumes | Louis Désiré |
| Lighting | Bruno Poet |
| Orchestra | FORM-Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana |
| Chorus | Coro Lirico Marchigiano “Vincenzo Bellini” |
| Chorus director | Christian Starinieri |
Leonora is the central soprano role in Il trovatore. Her devotion to Manrico unfolds against political rivalry, coercion, and the concealed history linking Manrico, Azucena, and the Count di Luna. The role requires long-breathed lyricism, agility, dramatic intensity, and sustained expressive control across some of Verdi’s most demanding early vocal writing.
Gresia’s appearance should be presented specifically as the performance of 25 July rather than as the complete production run. This date-specific engagement places her in one of Verdi’s defining soprano roles while reflecting a repertoire shaped by both bel canto technique and dramatic lyric singing.
Her stage roles include Mimì in La bohème, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Micaëla in Carmen, and the title role in Bellini’s Norma. Her Verdi background also includes her Arena di Verona debut in Verdi Opera Night, recognition at the Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto competition, and work on repertoire including “Ernani, involami” from Ernani.
That combination is particularly relevant to Leonora, whose music joins bel canto refinement with the broader dramatic line and emotional urgency of Verdi’s theatre. The Macerata performance therefore represents a natural development within Gresia’s soprano repertoire.
The production also includes revival work by Marc Heimendinger, assistant direction by Fabiano Pietrosanti, and assistance with sets and costumes by Diego Mendez. The AMS – Helvia Recina Ensemble appears on stage alongside the festival orchestra and chorus.