Mikhail Petrenko

Berlioz moves the action forward by disguising his hero, the celebrated goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, as a monk and having him attempt to elope with Teresa, the daughter of the papal treasurer, during the night of the carnival. In the turmoil, a man is killed. Cellini is accused of murder and can only be saved if he finishes a statue for the Pope within a few hours. In a prodigious effort, he melts all his other works to have enough metal and completes the statue – saving his life and winning the hand of Teresa.