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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, ТрубадурPremiere / 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
History
- 1853 January 19 — Giuseppe Verdi’s opera "Il trovatore" premiered at the Teatro Apollo in Rome.
- 1883 January 22 — Italian operatic tenor Carlo Baucardé (creator of Manrico in Verdi’s "Il trovatore") died in Florence.
Books
| Year | Title | Description | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Il trovatore / The Troubadour: Opera Libretto with Italian–English Translation | This edition of Il trovatore (The Troubadour) presents the complete Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, set to music by Giuseppe Verdi. The text appears in a side-by-side Italian–English format, ideal for students, performers, and opera lovers. |
|
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 |
$24.56 |
| 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 |
$58.07 |
| 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 |
$24.47 |
| 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 |
$20.55 |
Books
| Year | Title | Description | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025
|
Il trovatore / The Troubadour: Opera Libretto with Italian–English Translation | This edition of Il trovatore (The Troubadour) presents the complete Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, set to music by Giuseppe Verdi. The text appears in a side-by-side Italian–English format, ideal for students, performers, and opera lovers. Enjoy this dramatic masterpiece with the original Italian alongside a clear and faithful English translation that preserves the passion, lyricism, and emotional power of Verdi’s music and Cammarano’s text |
$14.99 |
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 |
$80.25 |
| 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 |
$8.29 |
| 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 |
$23.47 |
External links