Il trovatore
also Le trouvère
opera · dramma in quattro parti
Composer Giuseppe Verdi
Librettist Salvadore Cammarano, Leone Emanuele Bardare
Synopsis
The Count di Luna loves Leonora, a lady-in-waiting at the court of Aragon, but she loves a troubadour who sings beneath her window: Manrico, an outlawed knight of the rebel party. Years before, a gypsy burnt as a witch charged her daughter Azucena with vengeance, and the old Count's infant son was lost.
Versions
Key facts
- Premiere
- 19 January 1853, Teatro Apollo, Rome
- Acts
- 4
- Language
- Italian (it)
- Setting
- Biscay and Aragon, early in the fifteenth century.
What's different
The original, first given at the Teatro Apollo in Rome.
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Il Conte di Luna A young nobleman in the service of the Prince of Aragon. | baritone | Giovanni Guicciardi |
| Leonora Lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Aragon. | soprano | Rosina Penco |
| Azucena An old gypsy woman. | mezzo-soprano | Emilia Goggi |
| Manrico An officer in the army of Prince Urgel, and Azucena's supposed son. | tenor | Carlo Baucardé |
| Ferrando An officer in the Count di Luna's army. | bass (profondo) | Arcangelo Balderi |
| Ines Leonora's attendant and confidante. | soprano | Francesca Quadri |
| Ruiz Manrico's follower. | tenor | Giuseppe Bazzoli |
| Un vecchio zingaro An old gypsy. | bass | Raffaele Marconi |
| Un messo A messenger. | tenor | Luigi Fani |
Key facts
- Premiere
- 12 January 1857, Salle Le Peletier, Paris
- Acts
- 4
- Language
- French (fr)
- Setting
- Biscay and Aragon, early in the fifteenth century.
What's different
Le trouvère, Émilien Pacini's French translation, for which Verdi revised the score for the Paris Opéra. He added ballet music to the third act, after the soldiers' chorus, where the gypsies dance to entertain them, and extended the finale of the fourth act.
Translator Émilien Pacini
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Le Comte de Luna A young nobleman in the service of the Prince of Aragon. | baritone | Marc Bonnehée |
| Léonore Lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Aragon. | soprano | Pauline Guéymard-Lauters |
| Azucéna An old gypsy woman. | mezzo-soprano | Adelaide Borghi-Mamo |
| Manrique An officer in the army of Prince Urgel, and Azucena's supposed son. | tenor | Louis Guéymard |
| Fernand An officer in the Count di Luna's army. | bass (profondo) | Prosper Dérivis |
| Inès Leonora's attendant and confidante. | soprano | Pauline Dameron |
| Ruiz Manrico's follower. | tenor | Étienne Sapin |
| Un vecchio zingaro An old gypsy. | bass | Medori |
| Un messo A messenger. | tenor | André Cléophas |
Source
- El trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez (1836)
Written from
- Budden, J. (1979) The operas of Verdi. Volume 2: From Il trovatore to La forza del destino. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 57-112.
- Wikipedia (2026) Il trovatore. (Accessed: 28 September 2026). The English article.
- Libretti d'opera (n.d.) Il trovatore. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Casaglia, G. (n.d.) '12 Gennaio 1857', in L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Wikipedia (2026) Il trovatore. (Accessed: 28 September 2026). The Italian article.