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Giuseppe Verdi operas
Rigoletto (1851)
Il trovatore (1853)
La traviata (1853)
Les vêpres siciliennes (1855)
Un ballo in maschera (1859)
La forza del destino (1862)
Aida (1871)
Otello (1887)
Falstaff (1893)

“Il trovatore” by Giuseppe Verdi

The Troubadour, Der Troubadour, Le Trouvère, Трубадур

Premiere / date of written: 19 January 1853

Il trovatore (The Troubadour) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto. This gave the composer the opportunity to propose significant revisions, which were accomplished under his direction by the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare, and they are seen largely in the expansion of the role of Leonora.

The opera was first performed at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, on 19 January 1853 where it "began a victorious march throughout the operatic world". Today it is given very frequently and is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire. It appears at number 23 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.

Libretti

# Language Authors
1 Italian Salvadore Cammarano, Leone Emanuele Bardare
2 German
3 English
4 French

original libretto
line-by-line of the original libretto

Audio recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra
Label,
Comment
Buy
1956
Giuseppe Di Stefano,
Maria Callas,
Fedora Barbieri,
Rolando Panerai,
Nicola Zaccaria
Herbert von Karajan
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus, Milan
CD: EMI Classics Cat: 56333 & 77365

Amazon.com
1962
Franco Corelli,
Leontyne Price,
Giulietta Simionato,
Ettore Bastianini,
Nicola Zaccaria
Herbert von Karajan
Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Chorus
CD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 447659

Amazon.com
1969
Manrico — Plácido Domingo,
Leonora — Leontyne Price,
Azucena — Fiorenza Cossotto,
Count Di Luna — Sherrill Milnes,
Ferrando — Bonaldo Giaiotti,
Ines — Elizabeth Bainbridge,
Ruiz — Ryland Davies,
Un messo — Neilson Taylor,
Un vecchio zingaro — Stanley Riley
Zubin Mehta
New Philharmonia Orchestra, London; Ambrosian Opera Chrous
CD: RCA Red Seal Cat: 74321-39504-2

Amazon.com
1990
Manrico — Luciano Pavarotti,
Leonora — Antonella Banaudi,
Azucena — Shirley Verrett,
Count Di Luna — Leo Nucci,
Ferrando — Francesco Ellero d'Artegna
Zubin Mehta
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra and Chorus
CD: Decca Cat: 430694

Amazon.com

Video recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra,
Director
Label,
Comment
Buy
1978
Plácido Domingo,
Raina Kabaivanska,
Fiorenza Cossotto,
Piero Cappuccilli,
José van Dam
Herbert von Karajan
Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Chorus
DVD: TDK Cat: DV-CLOPIT

Amazon.com
1983
Manrico — Luciano Pavarotti,
Leonora — Éva Marton,
Azucena — Dolora Zajick,
Count Di Luna — Sherrill Milnes,
Ferrando — Jeffrey Wells
James Levine
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 0730029

Amazon.com
2011
Manrico — Marcelo Álvarez,
Leonora — Sondra Radvanovsky,
Azucena — Dolora Zajick,
Count Di Luna — Dmitri Hvorostovsky,
Ferrando — Stefan Kocán,
Ines — Maria Zifchak,
Ruiz — Eduardo Valdes
Marco Armiliato
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
David McVicar
DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 800165549-09

Amazon.com

External links