Il Trovatore

Giuseppe Verdi | An opera in four acts
Sung in Italian | 148 minutes plus 1 intermission
From the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain

Verdi’s Il Trovatore is said to be a sure success – as long as you have the four best singers in the world singing it. This bold, modern production from the historic Barcelona opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, certainly fits the bill! Fiorenza Cedolins, Marco Berti, Luciana D’Intino and Vittorio Vitelli all shine in this operatic classic, which features the popular “Anvil Chorus” hit.

CAST
Leonora Fiorenza Cedolins
Manrico Marco Berti
Azucena Luciana D'Intino
Conte Di Luna Vittorio Vitelli
Fernando Paata Burchuladze

CREATIVE
Conductor Marco Armiliato
Stage Director Gilbert Deflo
Scenic and Costume Design William Orlandi
Lighting Design Joël Hourbeigt
Date of performance: December 22nd, 2009

PROGRAM NOTE
Il Trovatore, or “the troubadour,” premiered in Rome at the Teatro Apollo on January 19, 1853. The libretto is by Salvadore Cammarano (with additions by Leone Emanuele Bardare) after Antonio García Gutiérrez’s play, El trovador. Verdi saw Il Trovatore as an expansion on themes he developed in Rigoletto: both feature unconventional lead characters, and explore the love between parent and child.

The titular character in Rigoletto is a bitter, hunchbacked court jester who shelters his daughter to an alarming degree, in an effort to maintain her purity. Il Trovatore features an unconventional female lead – the old gypsy Azucena, whose love for her adoptive son is complicated by the fact that, years ago, she accidentally murdered her biological son in his stead. Both characters are also obsessed with vengeance – the force that propels Il Trovatore to its tragic end. The melodramatic plot (complete with star-crossed lovers and mixed-up infants) is heighted by the memorable music, including the ever-popular “Anvil Chorus.”