Recommended for Grades 6-12
In this resource, you will:
- Learn the opera’s background and synopsis
- Meet the opera’s composer
Il Trovatore
by Giuseppe Verdi
Il Trovatore
by Giuseppe Verdi
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1853 sprawling melodrama.
Premiered
1853
Music by
Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by
Salvadore Cammarano and
Leone Emanuele Bardare
Language
Italian
Background
In March 1851, Verdi wrote to his librettist Cammarano from Venice proposing Antonio García Gutiérrez’s play El Trovador as the subject for his next opera, following the success of Rigoletto. Il trovatore forms the second opera of the trilogia popolare of Rigoletto, Il trovatore, and La traviata.
To Verdi, the main role in the drama belonged to Azucena, which is reflected in his initial titles for the opera—La zingara (“The Gypsy”) or La vendetta (“The Revenge”). Throughout his career, Verdi consistently worked to include an element of intrigue and innovation in his plots. In Il trovatore, that element is Azucena.
When Cammarano unexpectedly died in 1852, leaving behind a still unfinished draft of Il trovatore, Verdi hired Leone Emanuele Bardare. Bardare was integrally involved in the development and expansion of the character of Leonora to be a dramatic equal to the gypsy Azucena, thus balancing the two male roles, Manrico and the Count di Luna.
Synopsis
Act I
Ferrando, an aged soldier in the service of Count di Luna, tells his men about the Count’s unfortunate family history. One night, the nurse of the Count’s infant brother awoke to find a gypsy lurking over the cradle. When the infant became sickly soon afterward, the old gypsy was burned at the stake. As she died, she ordered her daughter to avenge her. Although this happened long ago, Ferrando swears he would still recognize the gypsy’s daughter.
In the palace gardens, Leonora tells her attendant how she fell in love with an unknown knight who had been victorious in a tournament. The knight, Manrico, now appears below her balcony to serenade her. Count di Luna also arrives to pay court to her. He realizes that his rival in love is also his enemy in the civil war raging through Spain. The two men draw their swords to fight a duel.
Act II
In the gypsy camp, Azucena nurses her son Manrico, who spared the Count’s life in the duel but is now recovering from wounds he sustained in battle. Azucena recalls her mother’s death at the stake and relates how she kidnapped the Count’s infant son to avenge her mother. In her delirium, she threw her own child into the flames, a tragedy that constantly grieves her. When word arrives that Leonora, believing Manrico to have been slain in battle, will take the veil, Manrico rushes off to rescue her.
Count di Luna, who also believes his rival to be dead, plans to kidnap Leonora before the ceremony. As Leonora approaches the church, the Count steps forward to seize her. Much to everyone’s surprise, Manrico also appears. As his men overcome the Count’s forces, Manrico leads Leonora away.
Act III
The Count prepares to attack the castle where Manrico has taken Leonora. The Count’s soldiers arrest Azucena, who is found near their camp. Ferrando recognizes her as the gypsy who kidnapped the Count’s infant brother long ago. Overjoyed, the Count plans his revenge.
Inside the castle, Manrico and Leonora prepare to wed in the chapel. Ruiz arrives with word that Azucena has been taken prisoner. The pyre prepared for her execution can be seen outside, and Manrico and his men rush off to save his mother.
Act IV
Count di Luna has captured Manrico, and Leonora offers herself to the Count in exchange for Manrico’s life. When the Count agrees, she secretly swallows poison. In their prison, Manrico and Azucena comfort each other. Leonora arrives to free Manrico, who curses her for “selling” her love. But once the poison begins to take effect, he realizes the extent of the sacrifice she has made.
The Count arrives and realizes that Leonora has deceived him. As Leonora dies, the Count orders Manrico’s immediate execution. Azucena, forced to watch, reveals the truth to him: “You have killed your brother.”
Meet the Artists
Listen to the Story
Luigi Morgari (1857–1935), Il Trovatore poster, 19th century. Color lithograph [].
Presented by Washington National Opera, host Saul Lilienstein takes you through the musical world of Verdi’s 1853 sprawling melodrama, Il Trovatore.
Watch an Excerpt
The Anvil Chorus from the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore
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