Filled with sweeping choruses, heroic vocal writing and raw emotional power — Il campo de’ crociati is an opera that deserves to be heard.

Written for La Scala (Milan) in 1848, on the cusp of a transformational moment in Italian history, Saverio Mercadante’s long-neglected opera stands alongside the works of his more famous contemporaries in its dramatic force and musical invention. With choral scenes of overwhelming intensity, arias and confrontational duets of striking psychological depth and an orchestral sound that propels the drama with relentless momentum, the score strongly echoes the early works of Verdi and offers a new perspective on this period in opera.

Set during the First Crusade, the drama centres on Lea who, much like Shakespeare’s heroine Juliet, is caught between two worlds. Driven by passionate love but trapped by forces beyond her control, she navigates danger and faith in a war-torn land shaped by violence, the ruthless pursuit of power and the certainty of righteousness on all sides. Mercadante’s music gives Lea a singularly powerful voice, framing her journey as a profoundly human struggle for dignity, agency and compassion, one that eventually ends with her paying the highest price.

This concert performance presents Il campo de’ crociati as both a major musical discovery and a work that can still speak to modern audiences. Rosa Feola returns to London to sing the role of Lea, with Germán Enrique Alcántara as the vengeful Ismaele, who pursues her from her homeland, and Iván Ayón-Rivas as Carlo, the man Lea loves, who has begun to doubt the crusaders’ cause. The role of Goffredo di Buglione, leader of the crusading army, is sung by Giorgi Manoshvili, making his Opera Rara debut.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra and English National Opera Chorus are conducted by Carlo Rizzi, Opera Rara’s Artistic Director.