Marta Torbidoni to Open Festival Verdi 2026 in 'Alzira' at Teatro Regio di Parma

The Festival Verdi will open its 2026 edition with Verdi's "Alzira," starring soprano Marta Torbidoni in the title role. The new production runs three performances — October 1, 8 and 17, 2026 — at the Teatro Regio di Parma.

Manuel Renga directs. James Conlon conducts. The opera will be performed in a critical edition edited by Stefano Castelvecchi and Jonathan Cheskin.

The cast also features Antonio Poli, Federico Bonghi, Daniel Luis de Vicente, Alessio Cacciamani, Agostino Suibacchi, Erica Cortese and Long Ning.

Why stage an opera Verdi himself dismissed?

"Alzira" remains one of Verdi's least-known and least-loved operas — a reputation the composer himself fueled. Torbidoni addressed the work's fortunes directly in a statement announcing her return.

"It's always a thrill to be back at the Festival Verdi, which has given me so much since the start of my career, thanks to roles that remain a hallmark of my artistic development," Torbidoni said. "I'm excited to be back here to inaugurate the 2026 edition in the title role!"

The soprano was candid about the opera's standing in the Verdian canon.

"Alzira is not one of the most well-known or best-loved operas by Verdi (who contributed to its bad fortune, going so far as to call it unappealing) but it is Verdi, nonetheless," Torbidoni said. "And it tells us a lot about the composer, from his interest in the exotic subject matter borrowed from none other than Voltaire to themes that were dear to him, such as the conflict between affairs of the heart and of state, and between the oppressed and their unscrupulous oppressors. In this sense, Verdi doesn't let us down."

What does the production offer audiences?

The staging pairs a conductor long associated with the Italian repertory, James Conlon, with a scholarly edition that promises a text grounded in current Verdi research. Renga's new production gives the festival a fresh reading of a score rarely seen on major stages.

For Torbidoni, the engagement marks a homecoming of sorts. The Festival Verdi, she said, shaped her artistic development from the start of her career, and the 2026 opening night now places her at the head of a rarity that even its composer wrote off.

The three performances at the Teatro Regio di Parma in October 2026 will test whether a work Verdi called unappealing can still command an audience when the right cast and edition converge.