Heath”s Modern Language Series: El trovador

El Trovador is undoubtedly Gutiærrez' masterpiece. Interest in the play is quickly aroused, and well sustained by the rapidity of the action. Gutiærrez has not kept the classic unities of time and place, but he has kept the one important unity, that of action; since, although our interest may at times be divided between the protagonists of the drama and a less important character, we never lose interest in the former. The characters, although well drawn, are not strong. Manrique is a selfish and ambitious man, who well deserves his fate. Nuío is unscrupulous and weak, but the weakest character of all is that of Leonor, who, knowing her duty, has neither strength nor will to accomplish it. Azucena is really the most interesting character in the play. From her first sad notes of >Bramando estÞ el pueblo indïmito> to her last despairing cry of >Ya estÞs vengada> we do not for a minute lose sight of the mortal conflict in her soul between the vengeance which she has sworn her mother and her love for Manrique. The verse form of the drama is worthy of note. In general, scenes in which subordinates or common people appear are in prose, while those between nobles are in verse. When the action is of ordinary pitch, this verse is very simple; but when the action reaches a high pitch, the verse form becomes complicated. Examples of this are to be seen in Act III, Scene V, and Act IV, Scenes V and VI. El Trovador was given operatic form by the great Italian composer Giuseppi Verdi, and under its Italian title, Il Trovatore, is well known throughout the world