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The composition of Il Trovatore had many interruptions. There were times when Verdi had to supervise the staging of his earlier works and, in July of 1852, his mother died. Then, shortly after the resumption of work on the opera, Cammarano passed away. By that time most of the librettist's work was done, however, and he had designated Leone Emanuele Bardare to make the required revisions that would complete the final version of the book.

Il Trovatore was premièred at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 19 January 1853, a day that brought torrential rains to the southern city, but bad weather could not daunt the enormous crowds that wanted to see a new Verdi opera. This wonderfully melodic opera was a tremendous success from its first performance.

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