Revived for the first time!

After stunning on its debut and being screened in cinemas world wide last summer, visionary german director David Bosch's searing rendition of Verdi's dramatic Il Trovatore returns to the Royal Opera House this season with two casts in rotation to tell this biting story of obsessive love, mistaken identity, green eyed jealousy and of course, hard won revenge.

Completed in the same 1850s fit of zeal that saw Verdi produce Rigoletto and La Traviata, Il Trovatore is marked by its twisting liberetto of blood-curdling violence, forbidden romance and heartbreaking tragedy against the haunting backdrop of a country hewn apart by war.

What is Il Trovatore about?

Two men vie for the love of noblewoman Leonora; one the irascible Count di Luna who is dangerously obsessed with her; the other, Manrico, a gypsy-born troubadour who serenades her at night. The two come to blows in a duel; Manrico gains the upper hand, but something stays his hand - what is it about the Count that stopped him from killing him?

Things come to a head when Manrico and Leonora try to get married; they are ambushed by the Count and his forces. Sentencing Manrico to death, the Count is approached by a tearful Leonora, who begs him to spare Manrico's life; in return, she will marry the Count. But will Leonora keep her promise to him, or does she have another plan in store? As for Manrico, just who is this troubadour exactly, what is the dark past that dogs him?