Festival Veneto's Opera Autumn season opened last week in Padova with two new productions, Verdi's Trovatore & Lehar's Merry Widow. Wielding the baton for Trovatore was that big musical dork (we use that term with great affection) and young maestro of all that is awesome, Omer Wellber. The Israeli conductor -- a Jedi apprentice at the school of Obi Wan Barenboim & first class maestro of the near future, you mark OC's words -- led the Orchestra Filarmonia Veneta & Coro Lirico Veneto Li.Ve. for Denis Krief's new production with Manrico's Walter Fraccaro and Leonora's Kristin Lewis (who we saw as a cool Aida in Munich).
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