Opera in four acts (1853)
Making her debut at the Verona Arena, the world's largest open-air opera theatre, Anna Netrebko leads a superb cast for the late Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Verdi’s searing masterpiece, captured live at the 97th Opera Festival.
Together with Rigoletto and La Traviata, Il Trovatore ('The Troubadour') forms what is commonly known as Verdi’s "popular trilogy". His favourite themes of destiny and desire are threaded through a tale of star-crossed lovers, Leonora (Netrebko) and Manrico (Yusif Eyvavoz), whose fate is intertwined with that of the Count di Luna (Luca Salsi) and the gypsy Azucena (legendary American mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick), who sets the dramatic events in motion.