Giuseppe Verdi: Il Trovatore

The romantic story from 15th century Spain, about the troubadour, Manrico, and the gipsy Azucena, filled with heroic feats, plotting, love, hate and revenge, includes countless twists and turns, chiefly improbable. The famous tenor Leo Slezak, a welcome guest on the stage of the New German Theatre (today’s Prague State Opera), himself an outstanding Manrico, said: “I have sung Il trovatore at least a hundred times, and yet I have no idea what this opera is about!” That said, it remains true that Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901) did a marvelous job in dealing with this maze of a plot, creating in Il trovatore one of his most impressive works. The opera’s melodic invention borders on the profuse; the gipsy blacksmiths song, Vedi le fosche notturne, from the second act, has been paraphrased now and again, including a jazz arrangement by Glenn Miller. The opera’s premiere, at Rome’s Teatro Apollo on January 19, 1853, was a triumph, followed by an outbreak of ruthless competition between opera houses for subsequent productions. Along with La traviata and Rigoletto, Il trovatore marked the first pinnacle of the composer’s career. This trio of operas has continued to this day to break box-office records in opera houses around the globe.

Premiere: May 26, 2011