act two famous numbers in quick succession;--the famous "Anvil
Chorus,"
[Music]
in which the gypsies, working at the forges, swing their hammers and bring them down on clanking metal in rhythm with the music; the chorus being followed immediately by _Azucena's_ equally famous "Stride la vampa" (Upward the flames roll).
[Music: Stride la vampa!]
In this air, which the old gypsy woman sings as a weird, but impassioned upwelling of memories and hatreds, while the tribe gathers about her, she relates the story of her mother's death. "Avenge thou me!" she murmurs to _Manrico_, when she has concluded.
The corps de ballet which, in the absence of a regular ballet in "Il Trovatore," utilizes this scene and the music of the "Anvil Chorus" for its picturesque saltations, dances off. The gypsies now depart, singing their chorus. With a pretty effect it dies away in the distance.
[Music]
Swept along by the emotional stress under which she labours, _Azucena_ concludes her narrative of the tragic events at the pyre, voice and orchestral accompaniment uniting in a vivid musical setting of her memories. Naturally, her words arouse doubts in _Manrico's_ mind as to whether he really is her son. She hastens to dispel these; they were but wandering thoughts she uttered. Moreover, after the recent battle of Petilla, between the forces of Biscay and Aragon, when he was reported slain, did she not search for and find him, and has she not been tenderly nursing him back to strength?
The forces of Aragon were led by _Count di Luna_, who but a short time before had been overcome by _Manrico_ in a duel in the palace garden;--why, on that occasion, asks the gypsy, did he spare the _Count's_ life?
_Manrico's_ reply is couched in a bold, martial air, "Mal reggendo all'aspro assalto" (Ill sustaining the furious encounter).
But at the end it dies away to _pp_, when he tells how, when the _Count's_ life was his for a thrust, a voice, as if from heaven, bade him spare it--a suggestion, of course, that although neither _Manrico_ nor the _Count_ know that they are brothers, _Manrico_ unconsciously was swayed by the relationship, a touch of psychology rare in Italian opera librettos, most unexpected in this, and, of course, completely lost upon those who have not familiarized themselves with the plot of "Il Trovatore." Incidentally, however, it accounts for a musical effect--the _pp_, the sudden softening of the expression, at the end of the martial description of the duel.
Enter now _Ruiz_, a messenger from the Prince of Biscay, who orders _Manrico_ to take command of the forces defending the stronghold of Castellor, and at the same time informs him that _Leonora_, believing reports of his death at Petilla, is about to take the veil in a convent near the castle.
The scene changes to the cloister of this convent. It is night. The _Count_ and his followers, led by _Ferrando_, and heavily cloaked, advance cautiously. It is the _Count's_ plan to carry off _Leonora_ before she becomes a nun. He sings of his love for her in the air, "Il Balen" (The Smile)--"Il balen del suo sorriso" (Of her smile, the radiant gleaming)--which is justly regarded as one of the most chaste and beautiful baritone solos in Italian opera.
[Music: Il balen del suo sorriso]
It is followed by an air _alla marcia_, also for the _Count_, "Per me ora fatale" (Oh, fatal hour impending).
[Music: Per me ora fatale,]
A chorus of nuns is heard from within the convent. _Leonora_, with _Inez_, and her ladies, come upon the scene. They are about to proceed from the cloister into the convent when the _Count_ interposes. But before he can seize _Leonora_, another figure stands between them. It is _Manrico_. With him are _Ruiz_ and his followers. The _Count_ is foiled.
"E deggio!--e posso crederlo?" (And can I still my eyes believe!) exclaims _Leonora_, as she beholds before her _Manrico_, whom she had thought dead. It is here that begins the impassioned finale, an ensemble consisting of a trio for _Leonora_, _Manrico_, and the _Count di Luna_, with chorus.