Catch Erwin Schrott in a theater near you

Erwin Schrott as Jean Procida in Les vêpres siciliennes

Last month we chose the performance of Verdi's Les vêpres siciliennes at Covent Garden as the production that we'd most like to see during the Verdi bicentenary. The cast was lead by barihunk Erwin Schrott as Jean Procida, along with an amazing cast that includes tenor Bryan Hymel as Henri and soprano Lianna Haroutounian as Helene under the baton of Antonio Pappano.

The opera is now being screened worldwide during the month of December for opera lovers across the globe to enjoy. You can find a performance close to you by clicking HERE. 

Erwin Schrott sings "Et toi, Palerme" from Les vêpres siciliennes:

Les vêpres siciliennes is in five-acts and was originally written in French for the Paris Opéra. It was translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855.  The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work Le duc d'Albe, which was written in 1838 and offered to Halevy and Donizetti before Verdi agreed to set it to music in 1854.

The story is loosely based on a historical event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, using material drawn from the medieval Sicilian tract Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia. After its June 1855 Paris premiere, an Italian libretto was quickly prepared using a new title because Verdi realized that it would have been impossible to place the story in Sicily. Based on Scribe's suggestions for changing the location, it became Portugal in 1640 while under Spanish control. This version was first performed at the Teatro Regio in Parma on December 26, 1855.

Schrott can next be seen in his signature role of Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid and Metropolitan Opera in New York.