Il trovatore

The Troubadour

Dramatis Personæ

Il Conte di Luna [the Count of Luna], in the service of the court of Aragon (Primo baritono)
Leonora, a noble lady-in-waiting at the court of Aragon (Prima donna soprano)
Azucena, an old gypsy woman of Vizcaya (Prima donna mezzo-soprano)
Manrico, a troubadour and officer in the rebel army of the Count of Urgel, thought to be the son of Azucena (Primo tenore)
Ferrando, captain of the guard at the Aragonese court (Primo basso profundo)
Ines, Leonora's confidante (Seconda donna)
Ruiz, a soldier, follower of Manrico (Secondo tenore)
Un vecchio zingaro [an old gypsy] (Secondo basso)
Un messo [a messenger] (Secondo tenore)
Compagne di Leonora e religiose, familiari del Conte, uomini d'arme, zingari e zingare [Leonora's companions, nuns, members of the Count's household, soldiers, gypsies]

Setting: Aragon and the mountains of Vizcaya, in the early 15th century.

Plot Summary

Act I. Scene 1: The followers of the Count di Luna hear how his baby brother was stolen by a gypsy after her mother had been burned at the stake; a baby's bones were later found in the ashes.
Act I. Scene 2: Di Luna and Manrico pay court by night to Leonora. Hearing Manrico's serenade, she rushes into the arms of the Count. Manrico and the Count duel.
Act II. Scene 1: Azucena recalls the burning of her mother as a witch, and how to avenge her she stole the Count's son, then threw her own baby in the fire.
Act II. Scene 2: Leonora prepares to enter a convent. Di Luna and Manrico both intervene; Manrico prevails.
Act III. Scene 1: Azucena is captured by di Luna's forces and recognized.
Act III. Scene 2: Manrico's marriage to Leonora is interrupted by news of his mother's capture.
Act IV. Scene 1: Leonora plans to save the captive Manrico by giving herself to di Luna. She takes poison.
Act IV. Scene 2: Leonora dies. Di Luna has Manrico beheaded. Azucena tells him that Manrico was his brother.

Famous Passages

  1. Di due figli / Abbietta zingara [Ferrando, coro: I.1]
  2. Tacea la notte placida / Di tale amor [Leonora, Ines: I.2]
  3. Deserto sulla terra [Manrico, di Luna: I.2]
  4. Di geloso amor sprezzato [di Luna, Leonora, Manrico: I.2]
  5. Vedi! le fosche notturne spogli (``Anvil chorus'') [coro: II.1]
  6. Stride la vampa [Azucena: II.1]
  7. Condotta ell'era in ceppi [Azucena, Manrico: II.1]
  8. Mal reggendo all'aspra assalto / Perigliarti ancor [Manrico, Azucena, Ruiz: II.1]
  9. Il balen del suo sorriso / Per me ora fatale [di Luna, Ferrando, coro: II.2]
  10. `E deggio posso crederlo? [Leonora, di Luna, Manrico, Ines, Ferrando, coro: II.2]
  11. Or co' dadi / Squilli, echeggi la tromba guerriera [coro, Ferrando: III.1]
  12. Giorni poveri vivea / Deh! rallentato, o barbari [Azucena, di Luna, Ferrando, coro: III.1]
  13. Ah sì, ben mio / Di quella pira [Manrico, Leonora, Ruiz, coro: III.2]
  14. D'amor sull'ali rosee / Miserere / Ah che la morte ognora / Tu vedrai che amore in terra [Leonora, Manrico, coro: IV.1]
  15. Mira di acerbe lagrime / Vivrà! Contende il giubilo [Leonora, di Luna: IV.1]
  16. Sì; la stanchezza m'opprime / Ai nostri monti [Azucena, Manrico: IV.2]
  17. Parlar non vuoi? / Ha, quest'infame l'amor venduto [Manrico, Leonora: IV.2]

© OperaGlass, 1997

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22 May 2014