Il trovatore

Synopsis

Blood brothers, separated at birth, become deadly rivals in love and in war. A mother, burnt at the stake for bewitching a child, is avenged by her gypsy daughter. A beautiful aristocrat sacrifices her honour to save the man she loves. The hot Spanish passions of these interwoven stories are distilled by Verdi into a score which for sheer tunefulness and vocal glory has no equal in his entire output. The immortal love songs of the principal characters contrast with the Anvil Chorus, the Soldiers Chorus and the matchless tension of the Miserere to create the essence of Italian opera.

Our Review:

14 April 2009

It’s hardly surprising that the Marx Brothers chose this work to send up the art-form in A Night at the Opera. Even played straight (very straight in Elijah Moshinsky’s 2002 production), it is difficult to empathise with any of the characters or identify with their dilemmas.

I don’t know how this run compares with the previous three (yes, there have been four in just eight years) but, with the current quartet of principals as the evening’s main strength, it’s unlikely that frequency has been a damaging factor.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky brings characteristic swagger and charisma to the evil Count di Luna. Apart from his manic dance of delight as his enemy, the gypsy-witch Azucena, is dragged off in chains, it’s a performance of great dignity. Sondra Radvanovsky, singing Leonora for the first time at Covent Garden, is beautifully controlled and dramatically alert. Their scenes together are the sharpest of the night.

Pol...

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Latest User Review

Emmanuelle Prevot - 14 April 2009:

It was a fanatastic combustion of true grand opera.PERHAPS YOU REVIEWER IS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE STRUCTURES OF VERDI.THE SINGING AND MOODY SETTING WERE SUBLIME...

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