“Anna Netrebko – better than Maria Callas” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) – Since her sensational success in La Traviata, the soprano Anna Netrebko, at the height of her popularity, returns regularly to the great festival hall of the Salzburg Festival. This time, Netrebko shines as Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic opera Il Trovatore with Plácido Domingo as Count di Luna. The critics have gone wild: “A triumph” writes the New York Times, while the Neue Zürcher Zeitung praises the production’s “truly divine sounds”. As the troubadour Manrico, Francesco Meli next to Netrebko and Domingo, singing “clearly and elegantly, possessing such vocal presence” (Der Standard).

The Tagesspiegel was astounded by the enduring stage presence of Plácido Domingo, marveling it “never fails to amaze people when they experience Plácido Domingo live, with his stage presence, the way he takes it all in his stride, how he now sings baritone parts without sounding different.”

The strong cast is complemented by Marie-Nicole Lemieux, who, as the gypsy Azucena, provides spine-chilling and dramatic moments. The “most hotly anticipated spectacle of the Salzburg Festival” (Corriere della Sera) has exceeded all expectations; Alvis Hermanis staging and sets, “in their opulent adherence to detail and fantastically illuminated atmosphere (…) offer much more than just a decorative sight for sore eyes“ (Salzburger Nachrichten).

On the rostrum of the Vienna Philharmonic is none other than Daniele Gatti, who elicits undreamt-of cascades of sound from the orchestra: “employing the most fabulous colours, which the Wiener Philharmoniker savour in virtually impressionist manner, diligently and tenderly heeding every characteristic and every chord with skill” (Salzburger Nachrichten).