The première of Ernani at Venices' Teatro La Fenice in 1844 failed to come up to Verdi's expectations, primarily because of the poor health of some of the singers. Both critics and audiences, however, soon warmed to Ernani, especially after the following performances. The opera contains some of Verdi's most successful, impassioned arias (first and foremost Elvira's cavatina and Silva's cantabile) and clearly denoted an evolution in terms of dramatic structure, more cohesive and with lesser use of blocks of closed numbers. Despite a turbulent 'premiere', Ernani became a real international success, beginning with the felicitous Vienna productions of May/June 1844. The cast of this Teatro Regio of Parma production features some of today's best singers for this type of repertoire.

This is an exciting performance. Gabriele Lavia’s steampunk production is stylish and plays up the violence and tension that underpin the opera. Nicola Luisotti’s conducting does likewise, as he is sharp and authoritative but also allows the music to breath naturally. The cast is excellent.(Opera Now)

This production from Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti Modena is conducted by Fabrizio Ventura. He has performed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as well as the Arena di Verona and the Sydney Opera House. The cast is led Giacomo Prestia who has performed with some of the world’s greatest conductors including Abbado, Mehta, Muti, Gatti and Barenboim. He is supported by Mario Malagnini and Cellia Costea.

TDK presents a remarkable staging of one of Bellini’s opera masterpieces on DVD: The wonderful singer-actor and coloratura soprano Eva Mei presents one of her showpieces - Amina, the sleep-walking heroine. She has sung the role all over Italy, from Palermo to Turin and has been loved by audiences all over the world for her clear voice and her stage personality. Beside her, the Catalan tenor José Bros, a renowned Bellini specialist, repeats what Il giornale della musica described as his “secure and committed” performance in the role of Amina’s fiancé Elvino. But the show belongs to the heroine, and Eva Mei was praised in the same periodical for her “bel canto skill, her pure, radiant top notes and the resolute, yet unaffected and elegant way she dominates the stage.” This performance at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2004 is lead by the superb opera conductor, Daniel Oren, who has a long alliance with Italian opera houses and regularly conducts at the Arena di Verona.