Michele Pertusi

Torvaldo e Dorliska stands between the ”dramma serio” Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra (October 1815) and Il barbiere di Siviglia (February 1816): Torvaldo was staged on 26th December 1815 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, on a libretto by Cesare Sterbini.

Torvaldo is a rare opera, today as yesterday, both in the theatre and in recordings. It was not included in the Rossini Opera Festival until 2006, as this performance witnesses. There are many clichés that need to be swept away about this opera, long considered modest yet of enormous interest. One concerns the orchestration indicated as vague but which is indeed very rich. Another mistake that critics make is to stigmatize Sterbini’s alleged inability to handle the action. His language is extraordinarily original and ”alive” compared to the stereotypes of his time, and the figures - without exception - are finely drawn.

On the ROF stage the main roles are entrusted to Michele Pertusi (Duke Ordow), Darina Takova (Dorliska) and Francesco Meli (Torvaldo); Víctor Pablo Pérez conducts the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento.