More than 1,000 visitors are travelling to Malta this moth to watch Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore, being performed at the Manoel Theatre on March 15, 16 and 17 as part of the Teatru Manoel BOV Performing Arts Festival.

Directed by Alena Peskova, the production will feature artists from the Silesian Theatre in Opava and the Malta Philarmonic Orchestra under the direction of conductor Damiano Binetti.

Il Trovatore features one of the most spectacular tenor arias in any opera, a series of memorable soprano arias, some intense music for the mezzo-soprano and a couple of Verdi's signature baritone arias. Considered as one of the most performed operas world wide, Il Trovatore is an opera in four acts based on an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano who had based the opera on the play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez.

First performed at Teatro Apollo in Rome on January 19, 1853, Il Trovatore was the second major output during Verdi's 'middle period' following the world premier of Rigoletto in 1851.

All three performances at the Manoel Theatre commence at 7.30 p.m.

As part of the Toi Toi Education Programme there is a 40-minute pre-show talk before each performance at 6.45 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. 40 places are available for these talks and they can be booked when purchasing tickets.