Trovatore, Il, is a tragic opera in four acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi . Its Italian title means The Troubadour. The libretto (text) for the opera was the work of Salvatore Cammarano, who based his text on the Spanish play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez. Verdi’s Il Trovatore was first performed at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on Jan. 19, 1853.
Loading the player...Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore
Like most Verdi operas, Il Trovatore tells a gloomy, violent, passionate story. The action takes place in northern Spain in the 1400’s. The principal characters include Manrico, a troubadour (poet-musician); Leonora, a noblewoman; Azucena, a Gypsy; and the Count di Luna. Manrico and Leonora are lovers, but the count also loves Leonora. In addition, di Luna and Manrico are brothers, though only Azucena knows it. Azucena seeks revenge against the count because his father had her mother burned at the stake. By the opera’s end, Leonora has committed suicide and the count has executed Manrico. As soon as Manrico dies, Azucena tells the count he has killed his brother, and she thus has had her revenge.
Despite a frequently confusing plot, Il Trovatore is brilliantly effective theater. The opera also has some of Verdi’s most memorable music, including elegant arias for Leonora and Count di Luna. Other notable moments include Azucena’s intense narrative, in which she tells Manrico of her mother’s execution, and Manrico’s exciting call to arms. Act II features one of the most familiar choral numbers in opera, the exuberant “Anvil Chorus” sung by a band of Gypsies in a mountain encampment.
