Hot Evening at the Opera

Don’t even try to settle into your nice seat at the opera house, because just as soon as the curtain goes up, here comes a terrifying story about an old gypsy woman who has cast a spell on a little boy. 

She didn’t actually cast any spells, but in those days in old Spain, they did not like aging itinerant people with stringy hair, so they call her guilty and burn her at the stake.

And off we go with Il Trovatore, San Francisco Opera, September 2023. 

See this One First – Then Think About Wagner

Trovatore is one of my picks as a good opera for beginners to see. This is no heavy king and queen stuff from Greek legends.  This is more the type of romance where they duke it out for the lady, with swords and armies, singing heartily the whole time.

Plus, you get the jumpy plot, the romance, the horror story, and of course the critical vial of slow-acting poison. 

Azucena is Crazy for Revenge

Giuseppi Verdi was a sad guy, and he went all in with the gruesome stuff, like the old woman getting burned for no reason, while her daughter, Azucena, watches and listens to her yell “Avenge me!”.

Oh, she will.

The little boy was one of two brothers, the sons of the big wheel with the castle.  Why not hoist one of them into the fire while nobody’s looking?  It gets worse.

Darn it.  That was actually NOT one of the little boys that I had in mind for this; it was my own little son – my mistake, sorry.  I get confused like that sometimes.  This is a creepy song.  Go for it, Ekaterina Semenchuk!  She’s scary to listen to.

Plot #2: Brother Against Brother, with Swords

So one of the boys wanders off to the mountains, adopted by the gypsy woman herself, and the other becomes the big deal Count di Luna.  The Count, as in most operas, takes what he wants.  And what he wants in this case is the young Leonora, lady-in-waiting to the queen.

He even sings a couple of terrific love songs for her. Maybe it’s not actually love in the romantic sense that he’s hoping for, but this is really touching music.

This Count is never going to get Leonora, don’t worry.  Leonora knows how to handle matters, even though, at one point, the big Count sends his army after her.

Because Leonora has her eye on another fellow, the mysterious singer in the night, the Troubadour, from the title.  (Now we see what happened to the other little guy who wandered off.  He adoptive gypsy mother lets him pursue Leonora.)  

The soprano does not mess around.  She starts right off with stunning, happy song for Manrico the Troubadour.  Stick with Manrico, Leonora!  He’s been wandering for several years, and he does not know that the Count is his brother, but keep it sorted.  The Count is not good for you – we can tell!

Two Big Verdi Choruses

After you see the young gypsy bemoan what happened to her mom, and admit to carelessness in selecting the correct little boy for the fire, hang on for the next big musical bow wave: the famous Anvil Chorus.  The workers like their anvil, and they like “the gypsy girl”, and their wild swinging with the hammers makes one of the greatest pieces in the whole show, and maybe even in the world of opera music.

Nice work here, San Francisco.  I’ve seen them do this scene elsewhere with tiny little anvils – not believable – and yet another with no anvil on the stage.  (Why not?  What’s making the big noise?)  But here there is lots of heavy metal, and what appears to be the entire population of Zaragoza up there singing and swinging.

Nice music here in the scene where the guys all stop Leonora from becoming a nun. (Of course, by bursting into the church with knives and swords.  That’s how you do it.)   Manrico and the Count and Leonora all have a crisp, edgy trio, and you’ve got the church crowd along with them.  This music is charging along pretty fast and furious, and it sticks to the track.

Then right after intermission, the Count’s Captain Ferrando marshals his army to go finish off the Troubadour and re-capture Leonora.  Powerhouse energy-gang here, swords in the air, singing about success!  (We’re still singing it for ourselves on the way home.  Find the Soldiers’ Chorus on YouTube and ramp up your housework!)

Several slow scenes here, Giuseppe.  It starts to drag, and we think about popcorn.

Manrico Faces the Facts

Manrico gets to say how he feels about Leonora.  He loves her, and that is one touching love song, troubadour guy, it certainly is. 

On the downside, the upcoming wedding is taking on an uncertain tone, since the opposing army is right outside the door, and they are going to win this one.  But, good positivity, fella.

Then the windup.  Down toward the end, what we have in the middle of the doom and gloom is a lullaby.  Right – this guy and his adoptive mom aren’t seeing their way out of the jail in the castle, so let’s sing a sweet song about how we used to live in the hills and the forest. 

Finally, the big revenge for the gypsy’s mom.  But, before you do that, let’s talk, because there’s a straightforward way out of this for you and your boy.  I can think of a happy ending!

She’s not listening.  Leonora, Manrico, Azucena, all out.  How’s that working for you, then, gypsy woman?

Verdi didn’t write a comedy until he was 80 years old.  Tough go, my man, but thanks for the tunes.