Speranza Scappucci Makes Debut As Principal Guest Conductor In Verdi’s THE SICILIAN VESPERS

Speranza Scappucci will make her debut as Principal Guest Conductor of The Royal Opera with Verdi’s The Sicilian Vespers, opening on the Main Stage September 19 and running through October 6, 2025. Tickets start at £12.

Scappucci first appeared at Covent Garden in 2022 with Verdi’s Attila and was named Principal Guest Conductor in June 2023, the first artist to hold the title since 1997.

“I am excited to officially take up my position as Principal Guest Conductor of The Royal Opera and I can think of no better opera than this to start off with,” said Scappucci. “Verdi is one of the composers dearest to my heart, and The Sicilian Vespers is a monumental score full of incredibly dramatic music, big chorus scenes and intimate moments. Love, political intrigue, revenge, jealousy and redemption: I look forward to bringing this story to life with the brilliant Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Opera Chorus and cast.”

About the Production

Verdi’s rarely staged grand opera, based on real events from March 30, 1282, depicts the Sicilian people’s revolt against the oppressive rule of Charles I of Anjou. Director Stefan Herheim’s production, first seen in 2013 to mark Verdi’s bicentenary, relocates the action to the opulent Paris Opéra of 1855, where the work originally premiered.

Leading the cast are Joyce El-Khoury, Sara Cortolezzis, and SeokJong Baek, making role debuts as the lovers Hélène and Henri. They are joined by Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Jean Procida) and Quinn Kelsey (Guy de Montfort), with Vartan Gabrielian (Robert), Neal Cooper (Thibault), Thomas D. Hopkinson (Le Comte de Vaudemont), former Jette Parker Artists Blaise Malaba (Le Sire de Béthune) and Michael Gibson (Daniéli), and current JPAs Jingwen Cai (Ninetta) and Giorgi Guliashvili (Mainfroid). Gabrielian and Guliashvili make their Royal Opera debuts in this production.