Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 5 Il Travatore

O P E R A N O T E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O 30 | November 17 - December 9, 2018 and “Condotta ell’era in ceppi,” and our hearts melt later in the opera when she longs to return home to the mountains. At first, Verdi intended Il trovatore to be a three-person drama – mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone. But many of the changes made to the work during composition related to adjusting the various roles. After Cammarano died, the young Leone Emanuele Bardare came on board. With him Verdi expanded Leonora’s role, but Bardare also supplied Verdi with the words “Il balen del suo sorriso,” which gave the baritone his show-stopping solo – one that fleshed out his humanity. Other changes came about via singers.Manrico’s high Cs, so thrilling at the end of “Di quella pira,” were apparently interpolated by Italian tenor Enrico Tamberlik in a later production. Verdi’s attitude was typically practical: if the public likes them, fine, but make sure they’re good. Il trovatore is one of the most exciting operas in the repertoire, but it may also be the opera most satirized by opera’s detractors. And there are substantial criticisms to make of the plot. An opera company has to hope that audiences are prepared to plug some holes, assuming, for example, that Manrico lost the effort to free Azucena and that’s why he’s in a dungeon at the beginning of Act Four. But that said, all the non-sequiturs and jumps are made good by the sweep of Verdi’s music. In the last scene, Verdi seems to escape the constraints of Italian “number opera” and move forward freely. Both Manrico and Azucena are in prison. Leonora finds them in their cell. She has offered herself to the Count in exchange for Manrico’s life and Manrico condemns her for it, until he realizes she has taken poison and is dying. The Count, thinking he can still triumph with Manrico’s death orders Manrico to be taken out for beheading. But when Azucena is dragged to the window to witness Manrico’s death, she tells the Count, “He was your brother” (that is: the boy she abducted). The axe falls and she exults, “Mother, you are avenged.” Verdi resisted the suggestion of extra lines and a reminder of Azucena’s filial vow. It would “cool things down”, he said. Only one concept mattered now: ‘vengeance’. Some critics find this ending precipitate, but an audience probably feels too excited to care. Il trovatore is evidence that plot is important, but that opera succeeds mostly because of what the music and singers can do. Il trovatore certainly does. Gordon Williams is an Australian librettist and writer on music based in Los Angeles. Italian tenor Franco Corelli in the role that made his name internationally, Manrico in Il trovatore Modern Match - Il trovatore The hero of Il trovatore , Manrico, is introduced in the opera as an adult, but the mystery of his character can only be unlocked when we understand what occurred during his infancy. In this and other ways, he’s similar to another boy we know well: Harry Potter. Manrico was raised never knowing his true family, including Count di Luna, who turns out to be his brother. As a result, the two men are unable to recognize each other in adulthood, yet Manrico seems to understand implicitly that their destinies are linked. In his duel with di Luna, he couldn’t bring himself to harm him when given the chance. Harry, too, was raised as an orphan, but discovers throughout the book series that his destiny is inextricably linked with Voldemort’s. Though the two are not true brothers, J.K. Rowling kins the two thematically. For example, Harry and Voldemort use magic wands made out of the same material, called “brother wands,” which recognize and refuse to do the other harm during an important duel. Harry and Voldemort share other curious similarities – such as a hereditary ability to speak to snakes – that elevate their relationship to being almost fraternal. In both the opera and the Potter novels, the brother-figure is one of rival or foil, a reflection of what the other could be had circumstances been different. In their similarities, their differences stand out in stark contrast and give insight into the characters. But brotherhood isn’t the only family role that takes on twisted significance in both stories. In each case, a mother rescues her young son and makes it possible for that son to grow into the hero he was always meant to be. In Harry Potter, it’s Harry’s mother Lily who, by sacrificing herself, casts the spell that saves the infant Harry from Voldemort. Manrico’s life is saved by Azucena, who unwittingly sacrifices her own child and consequently becomes his adopted mother. As a result, Manrico is fiercely loyal to her, just as Harry is loyal to his own surrogate mother-figures, Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall. Though both stories make use of these tentative family relationships, they end very differently. The Potter novels end with the hero’s triumph, albeit a bittersweet one (RIP Dobby, Fred Weasley, Professor Lupin, etc). Il trovatore ends with the unexpected triumph of Azucena, whose true motives only become clear at the very end. Therefore, Verdi’s conception of the mother figure is far less altruistic than Rowling’s. But again, the stark contrast of this difference shines a light on the nature of these works: one is meant for children and teenagers, the other for the world’s grand opera stages. One seeks to affirm the power of love to triumph over hate; the other seeks to demonstrate the way revenge can tear families apart. Both have the power to move audiences, generate massive fan bases, and invite us to make hidden connections to our own lives. - Meg Huskin The writer, an intern in Lyric’s marketing and communications department last spring, is currently the relationship marketing associate at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. (Top) Luciano Pavarotti as Manrico; (above) Harry Potter.