The Year of Our Lord 1833

It is little known that it was the Russia of the Tsars which introduced Italy to its hero. In the distant empire of the Romanovs, the twenty-five-year old Giuseppe Garibaldi undertook his extraordinary life's journey.

In a drinking den in the sleazy alleyways of the seaport of Taganrog, the Frenchman swore eternal allegiance to the future Italian Republic and, in this remote realm, discovered his ardent passion for a young Russian countess with an unutterable secret.

This dark and romantic period at the dawn of the Risorgimento is the setting for O ITALIA! Ora e sempre, which pays tribute to the homeland of lyric opera in celebration of the 155th anniversary of its national unity.

Historic reality and the tradition of grand opera meld in a lyric union composed in rhyme in a story of valour and betrayal, murder and love.

Share the audaciousness, the ardour and the indomitable spirit of the sea captain Garibaldi, who, rallying to the call to arms, is transformed into the unstoppable protagonist of O ITALIA! Ora e sempre.