Opera in Gozo – La Forza del Destino cast announced for the Aurora

by Gozo News · September 10, 2025

The Aurora Opera House production team has announced that world-class soprano, Liudmyla Monastyrska is set to headline the massive cast of Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic masterpiece La Forza del Destino – the opening night of opera-in-Gozo, set to take place on Saturday, the 11th of October.

Born in Ukraine, Monastyrska’s fame has been taking her to the world’s most egregious opera stages, such as New York’s MetOpera where she performed the title role in Tosca and Turandot, Munich, Verona Arena, Naples’ San Carlo, the Royal Opera in London’s Covent Garden, and of course, Milan’s La Scala.

She will appear alongside another A-rated opera star, tenor Stefano Secco, in the role of Don Alvaro. He has graced the stages of Teatro alla Scala, Opera Bastille in Paris, the Vienna State Opera, and more. His international reputation brings credibility and a loyal fanbase of opera aficionados who know their tenors.

The main trio is completed with Dimitris Tiliakos who returns to the Aurora after a very successful Nabucco which local opera audiences are sure to remember.

The cast list continues with the Italian mezzo Cristina Melis as the incendiary Preziosilla and Fabio Capitanucci as Fra Melitone. Francesco Napoleoni returns as Mastro Trabuco (after last year’s double role as Il Tinca in Il Tabarro and Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi). Opera in Gozo - La Forza del Destino cast announced for the Aurora “Securing Monastyrska and her counterparts has not been an easy task, but it signals the Aurora’s commitment to consistently taking the level of opera-in-Gozo, indeed opera the Aurora, one or two notches up at a time. As a complex and expansive opera – requiring no less than 10 leading roles and a voluminous chorus – La Forza is not quite the most performed operas for a reason that doesn’t have to do with its musical beauty, and putting together a creditable cast for it can be quite challenging, not to mention costly,” the Aurora said.

It added that stage director Riccardo Buscarini has this time round teamed up with Mara Pieri for costumes, and Giammaria Farina – an Italian architect and set designer whose portfolio includes massive outdoor stages and indoor opera sets for the big guns. His active collaborations with David Livermore and the biggest Italian opera houses, bring a wealth of experience and the assurances of a top-notch spectacle for which the Aurora has grown to be renowned.

Colin Attard will be at the helm of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the Aurora Opera Chorus to bind all these elements together and translates them into the one lavish opera-night no one should miss, the opera House said.

Tickets are now out on sale at €90, €75 and €55, with a limited number of premium boxes available for €500-for-4-seats, including champagne and butler service; vin d’honneur tokens for an intermission wine-and-canapes reception are being sold at €35; all from www.teatruaurora.com or +356 79045779.

The Aurora Opera House said that La Forza del Destino is being supported by Arts Council Malta in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo through the Investment in Cultural Organisations Gozo programme, and sponsorship of Bank of Valletta.