Flip Book Project

Il Trovatore Opera

The opera that I watched is called Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, written in 1853. It is about a tragedy involving a love triangle. Count Luna had two sons but after a witch tried to kill one, she was caught and burned at the stake. Her daughter was left behind and seeking revenge for her mother, she kidnapped the count’s other son. In an attempt to burn the child alive, she mistakenly does this to her own son. There is speculation about the sons true fate as some think he is alive.

We then meet Leonora, who is in a relationship with the new Count. She tells the story of how they met at a tournament but after a civil war they were separated. The Count comes to her at night and calls out for her. While they are together, Manrico comes and sees them which sparks a confrontation with the Count. Manrico is then seen wounded and meets a woman who tells him a story. She tells of how she tragically killed her son. The Count filled with rage by Leonora’s infidelity attacks Manrico and captures him. Leonora is upset by this and takes to Manrico’s side. Manrico’s mother, who is revealed to be the witch’s daughter, is also captured. The Count meets the witch and decided to use her against Manrico. He finds out and decides he has no choice but to die or save her. Leonora sees prisoners and feels sympathy for Manrico. She asks the Count to be merciful and free Manrico. She also asks to see him in prison. The Count allows this and when she sees Manrico and tells him of the ultimatum, he is upset that she would do this. In the end, Leonora dies and the Count kills Manrico in his rage. The witch saw this and reveals to the Count that Manrico was his brother all along. This means that the child was never burned and the daughter kept the son as her own. She takes her own life with the counts weapon and the opera ends.

The version I watched of this was modern, meaning the tools used on set would have been much more advanced compared to when the opera debuted. I think the audience back then would have found this story very entertaining. Personally, opera is not my first choice for story telling but the plot was very grasping. Only those who get through to the end will see how the story is all connected. 

There were many things on the set that were used well to bring the opera to life. The stage was lined at the wings and background which gave the scenes an unusual but very convincing  background. The set design in each scene really used the mirrors to their advantage, for example, only a few people may have been on stage, but the mirrors made it look like they were a much larger number. The stage also had large pillars scattered about it. These were used as many different things like scenery. There were cables attached to the top which allowed them to be suspended and to the audience they would have looked as though they were floating freely. The third act shows a scene where the pillars are below the stage, making it seem as though there were holes in the floor. These were used to portray trenches with soldiers in them. The lighting combined with the pillars and mirrors also gave very immersive effects to the scenes. The set designer showed true precision and knowledge on how to bring a scene to life.

If I were to make this a video game, I would begin the story by having a short cinematic clip play, it would tell us the story of the Count and his two sons. How the witch tricked them and then it would end there. The first level would allow the player to take the role of the unknown warrior at the tournament. Various tasks will be given for the player to complete and after passing all, they receive some cosmetic award for their character. Another cinematic clip would play introducing Leonora as the love interest. After that, there would be a level where the players have to go through a maze garden to get to Leonara’ s balcony. Once they get through another clip of the two together will play. The clip will introduce Manrico to the story . The clip will end and the player will have to battle against the new Count. The difficulty will be set to the lowest to ensure that Manrico loses. Another clip will play where the players now take on Manrico’s perspective. They will have to search an area for a woman. When she is located, a clip will play introducing her as his mother. The next level will takes us to a battle field where Manrico and the Count are at war. There are other non-player characters around fighting while the focus is on our player fighting the Count once again. The next clip shows Manrico’s mother being captured and switches to Manrico and Leonora speaking after the fight. We see Manrico’s mother captured and she meets the Count. When Manrico finds out, he wants to save his mom or die. A level will be created with short tasks that lead to Manrico trying to free her. The difficulty is at the highest so the player loses to the Count and is captured. The player now takes the role of Leonora, they are speaking with the Count to negotiate mercy for Manrico. The Count is upset by this and decides to use Manrico’s mother against him. A level where they player is Leonora in a prison looking for Manrico’s cell. After finding it a clip plays showing Manrico upset by Leonora’ s decision. The final level will have the player be Manrico and they are going to battle the Count. During the battle, a clip plays showing the death of Leonora, the Count killing Manrico in his rage and the witch revealing Manrico was the count’s brother all along. A clip plays revealing what really happened in the opening clip and the game ends when the witch takes her life.