DVD:
Giuseppe Verdi | Il Trovatore

The third and last Il Trovatore performance by Herbert von Karajan with a cast of world class like Plácido Domingo, Raina Kabaivanska and Piero Cappuccilli.

Il Trovatore was always one of Herbert von Karajan‘s favourite operas. He conducted it at the very beginning of his career and his first studio recording in 1956 was made in Milan with Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano, but „his“ Trovatore really made its mark in the legendary performances given at the Salzburg Festival in 1962, which formed the basis for this successful revival in Vienna. He once declared in an interview that what he loved about this opera was its archetypal human passions, its compression of highly dramatic situations into the smallest conceivable space and Verdi‘s genius for translating such situations into music.

This 1978 performance is steeped in scandal. Franco Bonisolli was originally cast in the lead role but abandoned the cast during a rehearsal where the public had been admitted entry, and, after throwing his sword at the conductor, left the stage in fury, to be later replaced by Plácido Domingo.

What this performance makes so special: Karajan not only conducted the opera, but he was also responsible for the stage direction.

Cat.No.: 109334

Genre Opera
Recording location Vienna State Opera
Production year 1978
Duration 151 mins
Video format DVD 9 / NTSC
Audio format PCM Stereo, DD 5.1Sets Teo Otto
Light Design Robert Stangl
Composer Giuseppe Verdi
Orchestra / Band Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera
Conductor Herbert von Karajan
Chorus Master Helmuth Froschauer
Stage Director Herbert von Karajan
Costumes Georges Wakhewitsch
Libretto Salvatore Cammarano & Leone Emanuele Bardare
Soloist Piero Cappuccilli
Soloist Raina Kabaivanska
Soloist Fiorenza Cossotto
Soloist Plácido Domingo
Soloist José van Dam