by InTrieste
A glamorous crowd gathered at Trieste’s Teatro Verdi on Friday evening for the opening of its 2026-27 opera and ballet season, with a new production of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. The performance began at 5 p.m., drawing an audience that included opera regulars, cultural figures and a notable number of younger theatergoers, several of whom were interviewed during the evening.
The production marks the 225th anniversary of the theater, founded in 1801, and revisits a work with a particular place in its history. In 1917, the Verdi became the first theater in Italian-speaking territory to stage Lohengrin in its original German, helping introduce Wagner’s operas to audiences across Italy.
Directed by Arnaud Bernard, who also designed the sets, the new staging takes an unusual approach to the medieval tale of the mysterious knight who comes to the rescue of Elsa of Brabant. Bernard frames the opera through the final days of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, presenting the story as a fantasy unfolding in the monarch’s imagination as he retreats from the pressures of political power and his personal struggles.
The production features Russian tenor Dmitry Korchak in the title role, Swiss soprano Gabriela Scherer as Elsa, Elena Batoukova-Kerl as Ortrud and German baritone Martin Gantner as Friedrich von Telramund. Actor Leandro Amato appears as Ludwig II, the figure whose imagination shapes the production.
The orchestra and chorus of the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi Foundation are conducted by Enrico Calesso, with costumes by Carla Ricotti, lighting by Emanuele Agliati and video design by Sergio Metalli.
The opera is performed in German, with Italian and English surtitles. Friday’s opening began at 5 p.m., followed by a one-hour interval after the first act, giving audiences an opportunity to meet and socialize in the theater’s historic surroundings.
With Lohengrin, the Verdi has chosen a work that connects Trieste’s Central European cultural heritage with its longstanding Italian operatic tradition. The production will have further performances on Nov. 15, 20 and 21.
