De troubadour by Verdi, vr. 25 dec 2020, Van (2020/2021), Geregisseerd door Marco Gandini, Dirigent Alexandru Samoila, Jan Latham-Koenig, Vasily Valitov, Dmitry Volosnikov, Evgeny Samoilov, Laurent Campellone, Novaya Opera Theatre, Moskou, Rusland

Il trovatore is one of Verdi's brightest operas, a gloomy romantic drama full of fatal secrets and love passions. Two brothers, troubadour Manrico and Count di Luna, unaware of their relationship, become irreconcilable rivals in the struggle for power and for the love of Duchess Leonora. Obsessed with jealousy and revenge, di Luna kills his brother, whom he has been looking for all his life according to the behest of his late father. Inspired by a play by the Spanish playwright A.G. Gutierrez, Verdi managed to create unusually vivid musical images of the characters. This is the gypsy Azucena - the keeper of the secret of Manrico's origin, torn between motherly love and a thirst for revenge; the treacherous Count di Luna; noble Manrico and his beloved Leonora. They are complemented by colorful figures of gypsies, soldiers and close associates of the count, outlined in magnificent choirs.