How and when Verdi acquired a copy of the García Gutiérrez play is uncertain, but Budden notes that it appears that Giuseppina Strepponi, with whom Verdi had been living in See more

• Woodwinds: piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons
• Brass: 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba See more

Today, most opera scholars recognize the expressive musical qualities of Verdi's writing. However, musicologist Roger Parker notes that "the extreme formalism of the musical language has been seen as serving to concentrate and define the various stages of … See more

In Italian as Il trovatore
The opera's immense popularity – albeit a popular success rather than a critical one – came from some 229 productions worldwide in the … See more

Place: Biscay and Aragon (Spain) Time: Fifteenth century.
Act 1: The Duel
Scene 1: The guard room in the castle of Luna (The Palace of Aljafería, Zaragoza, Spain)
Ferrando, the … See more

Enrico Caruso once said that all it takes for a successful performance of Il trovatore is the four greatest singers in the world. On many occasions, this opera and its music have been … See more

While the story and most of the characters are fictitious, it is set towards the end of a real civil war in Aragon. Following the death of King See more