Premiere: March 9, 1844, La Fenice, Venice

Elvira, a woman betrothed to her guardian, harbors a secret love for the nobleman Don Giovanni di Aragona, disguised as the bandit Ernani.  
Soprano Barbara Quintiliani returns as Elvira for her third starring role with Opera Boston, after receiving critical and audience acclaim for the title roles of Verdi's Luisa Miller (2004) and Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia (2006).  
Tenor Eduardo Villa is one of the world's most sought-after and versatile tenors with an usually broad repertoire that ranges from Nemorino to Otello in leading opera houses throughout Europe and North America.  He is a regular guest of the Metropolitan Opera, as title role in Don Carlo, Radames in Aida, Rodolpho in Luisa Miller, Don Jose in Carmen, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Enzo in La Gioconda.
Baritone Jason Stearns makes his Opera Boston debut as Don Calro, the king (later Holy Roman Emperor) that Ernani is called upon to assassinate.  Mr. Stearns was awarded First Prize in the 2005 Chester Ludgin American Verdi Baritone Competition, judged by James Morris, Regina Resnik, and Plácido Domingo.