Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore One of the most enduringly popular operas in the repertoire, Il Trovatore was first seen at Rome's Teatro Apollo in 1853. Together with Rigoletto and La Traviata, it forms the "trilogy" of works that premiered in rapid succession over a period of just two years and firmly established Verdi as the leading opera composer of his time. The challenges of Il Trovatore's leading roles famously led Enrico Caruso to remark that all you needed to stage it were the "four best singers in the world."