Libretto by Salvatore Camarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare

Based on the drama of the same name by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez

First performance: 19 January 1853, they atter "Apollo" - Rome.

First performance in Bulgaria: 20 January 1914 by the Opera Society in Sofia under the conductorship of the Ruthenian musician Todor Hadjiev, and directed by Konstantin Mihailov-Stoyan.

First performance in Ruse: 14 November 1956. The conductor was Romeo Raichev, the director - Evgeni Nemirov, the artist - Mariana Popova, and the choirmaster - Nikolai Nikolaev.

Short synopsis:

Act One - "The Duel"

First picture

Castle of the Count di Luna. Before midnight the guards, tired and half asleep, await the changing of the guard. To rouse them, the head of the palace guard, Ferrando, tells a story from twenty years ago: the old Count had two sons, one the present Count and the other his younger brother. One day an old gypsy woman approached the younger one's cradle. She was immediately chased away, but from then on the child began to droop. Everyone was sure that he was bewitched. The count ordered the gypsy to be captured and burned as a sorceress. Her daughter swore revenge. She kidnapped the Count's younger son. They searched for the child for a long time, but could not find him. Because they found the bones of a child in the ashes of the pyre where the old gypsy woman had been burned, they decided that the boy was dead. The old count could not survive the loss of his child and soon died. On his deathbed he swore his elder son to find his brother. The tragic story began to be forgotten, only the belief remained that the spirit of the old sorceress had turned into a cuckoo that often flew over the castle. At midnight, a cuckoo flies over the castle. The guards are scared to death.

Second picture

Palace Garden. Leonora is looking forward to meeting her beloved, the troubadour Manrico. She tells her friend Inez how at a tournament she presented the prize to the winner Manrico. Since then, the two have fallen in love with each other. It's getting late and he's still gone. Leonora regretfully goes home. The Count di Luna appears in the garden, who is in love with the beautiful girl and longs for her to be his. Suddenly the troubadour's love song sounds nearby. The joyful Leonora comes out and throws herself into the arms of the Count di Luna, whom she has taken for her lover. In the distance, in the light of the moon showing behind the clouds, she sees Manrico and tears herself away from the Count's arms. The Count di Luna, seized with mad jealousy, rushes at the uninvited guest with drawn sword. The unknown knight also raises his sword. With difficulty Leonora shakes off the two rivals. They vow to meet again.

Second Act - "The Gypsy"

Third scene

A gypsy camp in the Biscay mountains. Dawn is breaking. The cheerful gypsy women, singing, finish their work. They will go down to the field to sell the made items. The old gypsy woman Azucena and her son, the troubadour Manrico, stay around the fire. Azucena sinks into sad memories. She tells how the old Count di Luna ordered her mother to be burned and how she stole his son in revenge. The gypsy wanted to burn him as they had done to her mother, but she made a terrible mistake - she unwittingly threw her own child into the fire. Manrico is shocked by the story he has just heard. The young man realizes he is not the gypsy woman's son. Azucena begs him not to suffer - no matter what, she loves him and will always care for him as if he were her own son. Manrico realizes why he spared Count di Luna's life in a duel. Just as he was about to plunge his sword into the downed Count's chest, some invisible hand seems to have stopped him. A messenger arrived, sent by Ruiz, a friend of Manrico, and reported that Leonora, learning that Manrico had been killed in a duel with the Count, had decided to enter a convent. The troubadour bids farewell to Azucena and quickly sets out for his beloved.

Fourth scene

In the Monastery. Count di Luna is convinced that he has killed his enemy in his duel with Manrico and now, with a group of cronies, has come to the monastery to take Leonora away. Hidden in the shade of the trees, they watch the maiden's farewell to her faithful friend Ines. For Lenora, a happy life without Manrico is impossible. Together with the nuns, she makes her way to the altar, but the Count di Luna suddenly confronts her. He will not allow her to become a nun - she must be his wife. Manrico arrives unexpectedly. Out of her mind with happiness, Leonora rescues herself in his embrace. In the ensuing duel, the Count is disarmed, and the lovers escape.

Third Act - "The Gypsy's Son"

Fifth scene

Count di Luna's military camp near Castellor Fortress. The Count has decided at dawn to attack the fortress where Manrico and Leonora are. Everyone's spirits are lifted by the certain victory. Soldiers arrive and capture a gypsy woman suspiciously hanging around the camp. Azucena explains to the Count that she has been looking for her son, the troubadour Manrico, and begs to be released. Ferrando, however, recognizes in her face the long-sought gypsy woman who stole and burned the Count's younger brother. Triumphant that he is finally being given the opportunity to avenge his brother, and to punish his greatest enemy, the Count di Luna condemns her to die at the stake.

Sixth scene

Castellor Castle. Leonora and Manrico are happy. Love and the danger that looms over them bind them even closer. Everything is ready for their wedding. All they have to do is wait for the siege of the castle by the Count di Luna's troops to end. Soon the battle will begin, but nothing is able to frighten Manrico. The anxious Ruiz rushes in with the news that Azucena has been captured by the enemy and will be burned at the stake. After revealing to Leonora that the woman captured and condemned to death by the Count is his mother, Manrico rushes to the rescue.

Act Four - "The Punishment"

Seventh picture

Prison tower near the castle of Count di Luna. Manrico's army is defeated and he is captured. Ruiz has managed to rescue Leonora and now, in the impenetrable night, they approach the tower. She wants to help her beloved escape. Ruiz is afraid to leave Leonora alone, but she is not afraid - she is wearing a ring full of poison. Footsteps are heard and Leonora hides. The thirst for revenge has brought the Count here. He has succeeded in capturing Manrico, but is looking for Leonora. Count di Luna orders Manrico and the gypsy to be burned immediately. Suddenly Leonora appears before him. Her attempts to appeal to the Count's mercy are in vain. He is firm in his resolve to destroy his enemy. Then the desperate maiden declares that if the Count will grant her request to spare the troubadour, she will become his wife. Her only condition is that he allow her to bid farewell to Manrico. The Count di Luna enthusiastically agrees and orders Leonora to be released into the prison tower. At the same time, she secretly drinks the poison. The young woman swears to the Count that this will be her last encounter with the troubadour.

Eighth picture

Jail. Manrico tries to calm a distraught Azucena down. Anguish has clouded the gypsy's mind. Only Manrico's tenderness helps her feel peace and close her eyes for a while. Suddenly the dungeon door opens and Leonora rushes in. She falls into her lover's arms and joyfully tells him that he has been saved. Happiness fills him too, but only briefly - until the moment when the troubadour asks himself how Leonora managed to save him. In vain she begs him to flee - Manrico demands to know the price of his deliverance immediately. Filled with jealousy and already convinced of his beloved's treachery, he bitterly reproaches her for breaking her oath. Such freedom, thus ransomed, he does not desire! At the same time, the ingested poison gradually takes away the last of Leonora's strength. Manrico realises what the truth really is. The Count enters and sees the dead Leonora in the arms of his rival. Seized with rage, he orders Manrico to be immediately executed. When the troubadour is brought out, Azucena awakens. The gypsy's attempts to thwart the Count are in vain - he triumphantly points Azucena to the flaming pyre. But soon, shocked, he learns from her that he himself has been the cause of his native brother's terrible doom.
Azucena's mother is finally avenged...