About "Il Trovatore"

"Il Trovatore" is a dramatic and emotionally charged opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Set in 15th-century Spain, the opera revolves around a complex web of love, revenge, and tragedy. The story unfolds as the noblewoman Leonora falls in love with the troubadour Manrico, unaware of his true identity as the long-lost brother of the vengeful Count di Luna.

As the narrative progresses, di Luna seeks revenge for the death of his brother, which he believes Manrico caused. The plot thickens with the presence of the mysterious gypsy Azucena, who harbors a dark secret related to the tragic events of the past. Tensions rise as the characters' fates become increasingly entangled, leading to a series of intense confrontations and emotional arias.

Filled with passionate melodies, fiery confrontations, and memorable arias, "Il Trovatore" is a masterful exploration of the human condition, highlighting themes of love, jealousy, and the inexorable consequences of revenge. The opera's powerful music and gripping plot make it a timeless and compelling work in the world of classical music and opera.

About the Director

John Upperton

John returns to Brent Opera having directed Mary Stuart in 2016. As well as an active career as a tenor, nationally and internationally, singing the dramatic tenor repertoire, he has directed opera since his school and university days. Productions for Midsummer Opera, Belcanto Opera, Morley College, and other companies include Dido and Aeneas, The Marriage of Figaro, Così fan Tutte, La clemenza di Tito, Fidelio, Werther, Otello, La Fanciulla del West, Tosca, and Dialogues des Carmélites. As well as fully staged productions, he has directed several performances ‘in concert’. His recent production of La Rondine for Midsummer Opera was described in Opera magazine as ‘a concert performance with attitude’.

www.johnupperton.com 

About the Musical Director

Giannis Giannopoulos

Giannis Giannopoulos is a London-based Greek pianist/conductor. Giannis holds a degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in Piano Performance and Orchestral Conducting respectively.

He has worked as a musical director in the Greek National Opera, Berlin Opera Group, Passaggio Oper, Opera Diaspora and Opera Kipling, taking part in the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, The Camden Fringe and in other venues. His latest production with Opera Kipling, was nominated for an Off west end theater award (Offies).

Through his own opera group "Corpus Animae", he staged Teleman's "Il Pimpinone" for the Aegina International Music Festival and also runs opera repertoire workshops in London.

Giannis is teaching orchestral conducting in Morley College and Queen Elizabeth’s School for boys, while also leading the Morley College Chamber Choir.

Our cast

Leonora

4th & 6th of July

Cristina Pharo

Chorus

Anne Wiel, Bethany Shordon, Bob Luder, Christine Fahy, Dai Noble, Doreen Morgans, Georgios Vagionis, Jaymes Aaron, Jeremy Ireland, Keith Willson, Regina Roszczynska, Ros Tatham, Salome Northridge, Sam Starr, Sara Meadows, Star Russell, Yiyi Zhang

Leonora

3rd & 5th of July

Aurora Bowkett

Il Conte Di Luna

Andrew Sparling

Andrew Sparling was initially cast as the second Count di Luna but, unfortunately, had to withdraw due to illness. We extend our heartfelt thanks to him for his dedication and the effort he invested in preparing for this role, which contributed to bringing this production to life. We wish him a swift recovery and eagerly anticipate his return to the operatic stage.

Il Conte Di Luna

3rd - 6th of July

Robert Byford

Azucena

4th & 6th of July

Suzanna Perry

Manrico

4th & 6th of July

Mike Wells

Manrico

3rd & 5th of July

John D’Ancona

Azucena

3rd & 5th of July

Marianne Wentzel

Inez

3rd & 5th of July

Anne Wiel

Ferrando

3rd & 5th of July

Rogelio Aguilar

Ferrando

4th & 6th of July

Richard Perry

Inez

4th & 6th of July

Salome Northridge

Ruiz

3rd - 6th of July

Joel Heritage

Gallery

ACT I: THE DUEL

Scene 1: The guard room in the castle of Luna (The Palace of Aljafería, Zaragoza, Spain)

Ferrando, the captain of the guards, orders his men to keep watch while Count di Luna wanders restlessly beneath the windows of Leonora, lady-in-waiting to the Princess. Di Luna loves Leonora and is jealous of his successful rival, a troubadour whose identity he does not know. In order to keep the guards awake, Ferrando narrates the history of the count (Racconto: Di due figli vivea padre beato / "The good Count di Luna lived happily, the father of two sons"): many years ago, a gypsy was wrongfully accused of having bewitched the youngest of the di Luna children; the child had fallen sick, and for this the gypsy had been burnt alive as a witch, her protests of innocence ignored. Dying, she had commanded her daughter Azucena to avenge her, which she did by abducting the baby. Although the burnt bones of a child were found in the ashes of the pyre, the father refused to believe his son's death. Dying, the father commanded his firstborn, the new Count di Luna, to seek Azucena.

Scene 2: Garden in the palace of the princess

Leonora confesses her love for the Troubadour to her confidante, Ines (Cavatina: Tacea la notte placida / "The peaceful night lay silent"... Di tale amor / "A love that words can scarcely describe"), in which she tells how she fell in love with a mystery knight, victor at a tournament: lost track of him when a civil war broke out: then encountered him again, in disguise as a wandering troubadour who sang beneath her window. When they have gone, Count di Luna enters, intending to pay court to Leonora himself, but hears the voice of his rival, in the distance: (Deserto sulla terra / "Alone upon this earth"). Leonora in the darkness briefly mistakes the count for her lover, until the Troubadour himself enters the garden, and she rushes to his arms. The Count challenges his rival to reveal his true identity, which he does: Manrico, a knight now outlawed and under death sentence for his allegiance to a rival prince. Manrico in turn challenges him to call the guards, but the Count regards this encounter as a personal rather than political matter, and challenges Manrico instead to a duel over their common love. Leonora tries to intervene, but cannot stop them from fighting (Trio: Di geloso amor sprezzato / "The fire of jealous love" ).

ACT II: THE GYPSY

Scene 1: The gypsies' camp

The gypsies sing the Anvil Chorus: Vedi le fosche notturne / "See! The endless sky casts off her sombre nightly garb...". Azucena, the daughter of the Gypsy burnt by the count, is still haunted by her duty to avenge her mother (Canzone: Stride la vampa / "The flames are roaring!"). The Gypsies break camp while Azucena confesses to Manrico that after stealing the di Luna baby she had intended to burn the count's little son along with her mother, but overwhelmed by the screams and the gruesome scene of her mother's execution, she became confused and threw her own child into the flames instead (Racconto: Condotta ell'era in ceppi / "They dragged her in bonds").

Manrico realises that he is not the son of Azucena, but loves her as if she were indeed his mother, as she has always been faithful and loving to him – and, indeed, saved his life only recently, discovering him left for dead on a battlefield after being caught in ambush. Manrico tells Azucena that he defeated di Luna in their earlier duel, but was held back from killing him by a mysterious power (Duet: Mal reggendo / "He was helpless under my savage attack"): and Azucena reproaches him for having stayed his hand then, especially since it was the Count's forces that defeated him in the subsequent battle of Pelilla. A messenger arrives and reports that Manrico's allies have taken Castle Castellor, which Manrico is ordered to hold in the name of his prince: and also that Leonora, who believes Manrico dead, is about to enter a convent and take the veil that night. Although Azucena tries to prevent him from leaving in his weak state (Ferma! Son io che parlo a te! / "I must talk to you"), Manrico rushes away to prevent her from carrying out this intent.

Scene 2: In front of the convent

Di Luna and his attendants intend to abduct Leonora and the Count sings of his love for her (Aria: Il balen del suo sorriso / "The light of her smile" ... Per me ora fatale / "Fatal hour of my life"). Leonora and the nuns appear in procession, but Manrico prevents di Luna from carrying out his plans and takes Leonora away with him, although once again leaving the Count behind unharmed, as the soldiers on both sides back down from bloodshed, the Count being held back by his own men.

ACT III: THE GYPSY’S SON

Scene 1: Di Luna's camp

Di Luna and his army are attacking the fortress Castellor where Manrico has taken refuge with Leonora (Chorus: Or co' dadi ma fra poco / "Now we play at dice"). Ferrando drags in Azucena, who has been captured wandering near the camp. When she hears di Luna's name, Azucena's reactions arouse suspicion and Ferrando recognizes her as the supposed murderer of the count's brother. Azucena cries out to her son Manrico to rescue her and the count realizes that he has the means to flush his enemy out of the fortress. He orders his men to build a pyre and burn Azucena before the walls.

Scene 2: A chamber in the castle

Inside the castle, Manrico and Leonora are preparing to be married. She is frightened; the battle with di Luna is imminent and Manrico's forces are outnumbered. He assures her of his love (Aria: Ah sì, ben mio, coll'essere / "Ah, yes, my love, in being yours"), even in the face of death. When news of Azucena's capture reaches him, he summons his men and desperately prepares to attack (Cabaletta: Di quella pira l'orrendo foco / "The horrid flames of that pyre"). Leonora faints.

ACT IV: THE EXECUTION

Scene 1: Before the dungeon keep

Manrico has failed to free Azucena and has been imprisoned himself. Leonora attempts to free him (Aria: D'amor sull'ali rosee / "On the rosy wings of love"; Chorus & Duet: Miserere / "Lord, thy mercy on this soul") by begging di Luna for mercy and offers herself in place of her lover. She promises to give herself to the count, but secretly swallows poison from her ring in order to die before di Luna can possess her (Duet: Mira, d'acerbe lagrime / "See the bitter tears I shed").

Scene 2: In the dungeon

Manrico and Azucena are awaiting their execution. Manrico attempts to soothe Azucena, whose mind wanders to happier days in the mountains (Duet: Ai nostri monti ritorneremo / "Again to our mountains we shall return"). At last the gypsy slumbers. Leonora comes to Manrico and tells him that he is saved, begging him to escape. When he discovers she cannot accompany him, he refuses to leave his prison. He believes Leonora has betrayed him until he realizes that she has taken poison to remain true to him. As she dies in agony in Manrico's arms she confesses that she prefers to die with him than to marry another (Trio: Prima che d'altri vivere / "Rather than live as another's"). The count has heard Leonora's last words and orders Manrico's execution. Azucena awakens and tries to stop di Luna. Once she finds out Manrico is dead, she cries: Egli era tuo fratello! Sei vendicata, o madre. / "He was your brother ... You are avenged, oh mother!"

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_trovatore

Synopsis