The Canadian Opera Company (COC) opened its season in Toronto with two of the most beloved operatic works of our time—Verdi’s Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) and Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat).
However, while both were composed in the 19th century, the two operas couldn’t be more different in theme and musical style. Il Trovatore is a tragic tale of passion, anger and revenge—a grand-scale opera at its best with a fine musical score to accompany it.
Die Fledermaus is more light-hearted with Viennese party music and where champagne is king. It is an operetta, which is a much lighter genre than opera and features more spoken dialogue.
Il Trovatore
Along with Rigoletto (1851) and La Traviata (1853), Il Trovatore is one of Verdi’s most performed operas, both during his lifetime and afterwards. When the opera premiered at Rome’s Apollo Theatre in 1853 it was an instant success, leading to 229 worldwide performances in the next three years. It premiered in New York and London in 1855.
