BETRAYAL AND LIES RUIN INNOCENT LOVE
International rising opera stars Leah Crocetto and Michael Fabiano lead Verdi's tragic masterpiece that is famed for its intense portrayal of intense emotion and personal conflict. They are joined by Russian baritone Vitaliy Bilyy who makes his San Francisco Opera debut as Luisa's protective father, Miller. Set in the Tyrolean Alps during the 17th century, a young woman must choose between the love of her life or saving her father from a cruel fate - but as ever in opera, nothing is as it first seems.
what is it about?
Luisa is desperately in love with Rodolfo, the son of a nearby nobleman, Walter. However, Walter, being a proud man refuses to have his son marry the poor daughter of a retired soldier and conspires with his retainer Wurm to break the two up and have Rodolfo marry a wealthy, widowed duchess, by throwing Luisa's father into jail for a perceived insult.
While Rodolfo meets with the duchess and confesses his love for Luisa, she is being poisoned by Wurm, who convinces her to marry him in order to save her father's life. Under intolerable pressure she renounces Rodolfo; as we can expect, he is furious. The deceit around the innocent couple culminates in tragedy when Rodolfo enacts a terrible revenge on Luisa, wrongly believing that she no longer loves him.
