Photo/Illutration A photo taken from The Asahi Shimbun helicopter shows Saiin Garan zone of Horyuji temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, with Daikodo (Great Lecture Hall), back, Kondo (Main Hall), center right, and the Five-Story Pagoda, left. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

IKARUGA, Nara Prefecture--Horyuji temple here, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will present an opera by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) against the backdrop of the world’s oldest wooden structures, in May.

The Tokyo-based Sawakami Opera Foundation and other organizers said the opera will be “Il Trovatore,” a masterpiece by Verdi, who is also renowned for “La Traviata” and “Aida.”

“It is a revenge drama popular in Italy. We want to portray the conflict between the real world and a different world at Horyuji filled with its mysterious ambience,” said Jun Yamada, executive producer at the opera foundation.

The opera will be conducted by Hirofumi Yoshida, the musical director of the philharmonic orchestra of Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni in Modena, Italy.

The production team will hold auditions in Japan and Italy to select singers for four leading roles and three supporting roles.

Under the plan, a special stage, the orchestra pit and up to 1,200 seats will be set up in front of Daikodo (Great Lecture Hall), which is a national treasure, in the Saiin Garan zone .

Daikodo’s curtains will be opened for the occasion to unveil three statues of Yakushi Nyorai, with Kondo (Main Hall) and the Five-Story Pagoda, which are the world's oldest wooden structures and are also designated as national treasures, in the background.

The opera will be performed on four dates from May 18 through 21, opening at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets will cost between 5,000 yen ($34) and 25,000 yen and will go on sale from January.

For inquiries, visit the foundation’s official website at (https://sawakami-opera.org/).

The foundation has presented opera performances at other historic and cultural venues in Japan, including Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, in 2015.

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