| Operas by Giuseppe Verdi |
|---|
Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio (1839) |
Il trovatore (The Troubadour) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Leone Emanuele Bardare and Salvatore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was first performed at the Teatro Apollo, Rome on January 19, 1853. In 1857 Verdi revised the opera for Paris as Le trouvère and added a ballet.
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Performance history
On many different occasions this opera and its music has been featured in various forms of popular culture and entertainment. Scenes of hilarious comic chaos play out over a performance of the opera in the Marx Brothers's film, A Night at the Opera, while, on a more serious note, the opening sequence of Luchino Visconti's 1954 film Senso features a performance at La Fenice. Noting that the opera is very easy to produce, Enrico Caruso once said that "All you need is the four best singers in the world." The famous "Anvil Chorus" was featured in Animaniacs, a series that frequently uses the anvil as a comedic device. As a staple of the standard operatic repertoire, it appears on Opera America's list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America[1], at number 17.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, January 19, 1853[2] (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Il Conte di Luna, a nobleman in the service of the Prince of Aragon |
baritone | Giovanni Guicciardi |
| Manrico, a troubadour and officer in the army of the Prince of Urgel |
tenor | Carlo Baucarde |
| Azucena, a gypsy, supposedly Manrico's mother | mezzo-soprano | Emilia Goggi |
| Leonora, noble lady, in love with Manrico and courted by Luna |
soprano | Rosina Penco |
| Ferrando, Luna's officer | bass | Arcangelo Balderi |
| Ines, Leonora's confidante | soprano | Francesca Quadri |
| Ruiz, Manrico's henchman | tenor | Giuseppe Bazzoli |
| An old gypsy | bass | Raffaele Marconi |
| A messenger | tenor | Luigi Fani |
| Leonora's friends, nuns, the Count's lackeys, warriors, Gypsies | ||
Synopsis
A summary of the plot of Il trovatore is detailed below.[3]
Act I
Scene 1: The guard room in the castle of Luna (The Palace of Aljaferia, Zaragoza, Spain). Ferrando, the captain of the guards, orders the guards to keep watch while Count Luna wanders restlessly beneath the windows of Leonora, lady-in-waiting to the Princess, whom he loves. Luna's heart is torn with jealousy against his fortunate rival, the troubadour Manrico. In order to keep the guards awake, Ferrando narrates the history of the count to the guard. (Aria: "Di due figli vivea padre beato") It appears that a Gypsy of dreadful aspect had once exercised her magic arts upon the little brother of the count, making the child weak and ill, and for this had been burnt alive as a witch. Dying, she had commanded her daughter Azucena to avenge her, which vengeance had been partially accomplished by the carrying off of the younger son. Although no news had been heard of him, the father refused to believe in his son's death, and dying, commanded his son, Count Luna, to seek for the Gypsy. Scene 2: Garden in the palace of the princess. Leonora confesses her love for Manrico to her confidante, Ines. ("Tacea la notte placida") When they have gone, Count Luna hears the voice of his rival. (Manrico, behind the scenes: "Deserto sulla terra") Leonora in the darkness mistakes the count for her lover, when Manrico himself enters the garden, and she rushes to his arms. The count recognises Manrico as his enemy, who has been condemned to death, and compels him to fight. Leonora tries to intervene but cannot stop them from fighting. Manrico could have killed the count but, as he explains later to his mother, he mysteriously restrains himself, and escapes. (Trio: Di geloso amor sprezzato)
Act II
Scene 1: Camp of the Gypsies. The Gypsies sing the famous "Anvil Chorus". Manrico at the bedside of his mother, Azucena (Chorus: "Vedi le fosche notturne."), the daughter of the Gypsy burnt by the count. She is old, but still nurses her vengeance. (Aria: "Stride la vampa") The Gypsies break up camp while Azucena confesses to Manrico that after stealing him she had intended to burn the count's little son, but had thrown her own child into the flames instead. Manrico realises that he is not the son of Azucena, but loves her as if she were indeed his mother, as she has always been faithful and loving to him. (Duet: Mal reggendo) A messenger arrives and reports that Leonora, who believes Manrico dead, is about to enter a convent and take the veil that night. Manrico rushes away to prevent her from following out this purpose. Scene 2: In front of the convent. Luna and his attendants intend to abduct Leonora. (Aria: "Il balen del suo sorriso") Leonora and the nuns appear in procession, but Manrico prevents Luna from carrying out his plans and instead, joins Leonora and proposes matrimony.
Act III
Scene 1: Luna's camp. (Chorus: "Or co' dadi ma fra poco") Ferrando brings in the captured Azucena. She is recognised by Luna and sentenced to be burnt. Scene 2: Chamber in the castle, which is besieged by Manrico. Leonora and Manrico live only for each other. (Aria, Manrico: "Ah si, ben mio coll'essere") Ruiz, Manrico's comrade, reports that Azucena is to be burned at the stake. Manrico flies to her aid. (Stretta: "Di quella pira l'orrendo foco") Leonora faints.
Act IV
Scene 1: Before the dungeon keep. Leonora attempts to free Manrico, who has been captured by Luna. (Aria: "D'amor sull'ali rosee", Chorus & Duet: "Miserere") Leonora begs Luna for mercy and offers herself in place of her lover. She promises to give herself to the count, but intends to take poison before the marriage. (Duet: "Mira, d'acerbe lagrime") Scene 2: In the dungeon. Manrico and Azucena are awaiting their execution. Manrico attempts to soothe Azucena, whose mind wanders. (Duet: "Ai nostri monti ritorneremo") At last the gypsy slumbers. Leonora comes to Manrico and tells him that he is saved, begs him to escape. When he discovers she cannot accompany him, he refuses to leave his prison. He believes Leonora has betrayed him until he realizes that she has taken poison to remain true to him. As she dies in agony in Manrico's arms she confesses that she prefers to die with him than to marry another. (Quartet: "Prima che d'altri vivere") The count enters to find Leonora dead in his rival's arms and orders Manrico to be led to execution. Azucena arises from her couch and when Luna, dragging her to a window, shows her the dying Manrico, she cries in triumph: "He was your brother. Now my mother really is avenged!" and falls dead at his feet. The opera ends with the count screaming in despair.
Noted arias
- "Di due figli vivea" - Ferrando in Act I, Scene 1
- "Tacea la notte" - Leonora in Act I, Scene 2
- "Deserto sulla terra" - Manrico in Act I, Scene 2
- "Di tale amor che dirsi" - Leonora in Act I, Scene 2
- "Condotta ell'era in ceppi" - Azucena in Act II, Scene 1
- "Stride la vampa!" - Azucena in Act II, Scene 1
- "Il balen del suo sorriso" - Il Conte di Luna in Act II, Scene 2
- "Per me ora fatale" - Il Conte di Luna in Act II, Scene 2
- "Di quella pira" - Manrico in Act III, Scene 2
- "Ah, sì ben mio" - Manrico in Act III, Scene 2
- "D'amor sull'ali rosee" - Leonora in Act IV, Scene 1
- "Tu vedrai che amore in terra" - Leonora in Act IV, Scene 1
Selected recordings
Note: "Cat:" is short for catalogue number by the label company; "ASIN" is amazon.com product reference number.
References
- ^ OPERA America's "The Top 20" list of most-performed operas
- ^ List of singers taken from Budden, Julian: The Operas of Verdi (Cassell), vol 2, p. 58.
- ^ The plot description is taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
- The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
