Home > Il trovatore Verdi, G. (1813-1901) Il trovatore The Troubadour Composed 1851-1853. First performed January 19, 1853. Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare (in Itarian), after Gutierrez. A Summary of “Il trovatore” Act 1 In the 15th century, in the Aragon, Spain, Count di Luna’s younger brother is sickly from birth. It is blamed on an old gipsy woman, so she is burnt at the stake. Then, Luna’s brother also goes missing. Some unknown bones are also found in the ashes. As time passes, Count di Luna grows up to be an honorable aristocrat. And, he falls in love with Leonora who is a queen’s servant. But, Leonora loves a troubadour, Manrico, who also loves her in return. Act 2 Manrico’s mother is a gypsy, Azucena. She tells her son, when her mother was murdered at the stake, she stole the count’s baby, and threw the baby in the fire. But, she made a mistake. She threw not the count’s baby but her own baby. Act 3 Count di Luna arrests Azucena for the following reason that she is the old gipsy woman’s daughter and Manrico’s mother. Manrico is infuriated by Luna’s action. He and his fellows fight against Luna’s army. Act 4 Count di Luna catches Manrico. He condemns Manrico and Azucena to death. Leonora begs Luna to save her lover's life. She tells Luna that she yields herself to him in exchange for her lover's life. And, she secretly takes poison. Manrico puts the blame on Leonora’s behavior. Then, she collapses in his arms due to the poison. Manrico understands her behavior, but it’s too late. Count di Luna is infuriated to be deceived by her. He condemns Manrico to death, again. Even though Azucena counsels Luna to stop, Manrico is executed. Then, Azucena exclaims, and says to Luna, “Manrico is your brother! …I have realized my revenge, Mum!” A Comment on “Il trovatore” This opera, “Il trovatore,” is composed by Giuseppe Verdi. His previous work is “Rigoletto,” and his following work is “La Traviata.” “Il trovatore” is one of the most famous operas in the middle of Verdi’s composition career. This opera’s summary is very complicated, and this opera’s image is very dark, for example, a curse, a burning at the stake, and revenge. But, this opera’s first performance in 1853 was very successful. A point worthy of special mention is that Verdi likes the character, Azucena. Verdi thought about naming this opera “Azucena.” The superior point of this opera isn’t the music or the drama, but the “singing.” If you want to feel the power of opera singing, I recommend you watch this opera. There are four leading roles, Leonora, Azucena, Manrico, and Count di Luna which are sung by four distinct voice types, Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, and Bariton. In addition, there is the famous chorus, “Anvil Chorus” sung by the gypsies, and the beautiful chorus, “Miserere” sung by the six male groups. There are also a lot of great arias in this opera, for example, Leonora’s “D'amor sull'ali rosee (On the rosy wings of love)” in act 4, Azucena’s “Stride la vampa (The flames are roaring!)” in act 2 and Count di Luna’s “Il balen del suo sorriso (The light of her smile)” in act 2. However, the aria that is the most worthy of attention, is Manrico’s “Di quella pira l'orrendo foco (The horrid flames of that pyre)” in act 3. It is necessary for the Tenor to sing dramatically in a “High C.” Gluck, C. W. (1714-1787) 　- Orpheus and Eurydice Mozart, W. A. (1756-1791) 　- The Marriage of Figaro 　- Don Giovanni 　- Cosi fan tutte 　- The Magic Flute Beethoven, L. v. (1770-1827) 　- Fidelio Weber, C. M. v. (1786-1826) 　- The Magic Bullets Rossini, G. (1792-1868) 　- The Barber of Seville Donizetti, G. (1797-1848) 　- The Elixir of Love Verdi, G. (1813-1901) 　- Macbeth 　- Rigoletto 　- Il trovatore 　- La Traviata 　- Un ballo in maschera 　- Don Carlo 　- Aida 　- Otello 　- Falstaff Wagner, R. (1813-1883) 　- The Flying Dutchman 　- Tannhauser 　- Lohengrin 　- Tristan und Isolde 　- Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg 　- The Rhinegold 　- Die Walkure 　- Siegfried 　- Twilight of the Gods 　- Parsifal Offenbach, J. (1819-1880) 　- The Tales of Hoffmann Strauss, J. (1825-1899) 　- Die Fledermaus (The Bat) Bizet, G. (1838-1875) 　- Carmen Tchaikovsky, P. J. (1840-1893) 　- Eugene Onegin Massenet, J. (1842-1912) 　- Werther Humperdinck, E. (1854-1921) 　- Hansel and Gretel Puccini, G. (1858-1924) 　- La Boheme 　- Tosca 　- Madama Butterfly 　- Turandot Leoncavallo, R. (1858-1919) 　- Pagliacci Mascagni, P. (1863-1945) 　- Cavalleria Rusticana Debussy, C. (1862-1918) 　- Pelleas et Melisande Strauss, R. (1864-1949) 　- Salome 　- The Cavalier of the Rose Copyright (C) 2005-2014 Yusuke Kamiki. All Rights Reserved.