The Troubadour
[Il trovatore - Original version in Italian (18539
Le Trouvère - "Grand opéra" version in French (1856/57)]
Opera by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano and Leone Bardare, based on the play El trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez; French translation by Émilien Pacini
Costumes by Julia von Leliwa
Opening of Le Trouvère (French version) on September 29, 2018 at the Teatro Farnese, Verdi Festival, Parma, Italy
Opening of Il trovatore (Italian version) on January 22, 2019 at the Teatro Comunale, Bologna, Italy
Giuseppe Verdi's Troubadour is one of the most popular operas ever. However, not many people know the French version—Le Trouvère—that Verdi prepared for Parisian audiences in the tradition of the "Grand Opéra." Although it was a big success in 1856/57, the French version, which includes a large ballet in Act III and a French libretto, is nowadays seldom performed. Robert Wilson directs Le Trouvère at the historic Teatro Farnese in Parma, under the baton of Maestro Roberto Abbado, collaborating with American photographer Robert Rosenkranz, whose photographs create a counterpoint to the opera's action. In 2019, the production will be presented at the co-producing Teatro Comunale di Bologna in its original Italian version, Il trovatore.