NEW YORK—Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) originally thought of calling his 1853 opera “The Gypsy,” but instead kept the title of the play on which it was based, “Il Trovatore” (“The Troubadour”). While the troubadour is the romantic hero of the work, it is the gypsy Azucena, in her obsessive quest for vengeance, who pushes the action forward. If Verdi had seen the current revival at the Metropolitan Opera, he might have reverted to his impulse for the original title because of the powerful portrayal of Azucena by the Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili.
The Plot
“Il Trovatore” is one of those operas where great music prevails over a ridiculous plot. The Marx Brothers highlighted and heightened the absurdity in their film “A Night at the Opera.”As originally written, the action takes place during the Spanish Civil War of the 15th century. Sir David McVicar, who staged the Met production in 2009, moved the events to the 19th century, during the Napoleonic Wars.
