The third act opens in the camp of the Count, where Azucena, arrested as a spy, is dragged in.  She calls upon Manrico for help.  The mention of his rival’s name only adds fuel to the Count’s wrath, and he orders the gypsy to be burned in sight of the castle.  Ferrando has already recognized her as the supposed murderer of the Count’s brother, and her filial call to Manrico also reveals to him that she is his mother.  He makes a desperate effort to rescue her, but is defeated, taken prisoner, and thrown into a dungeon with Azucena.  Leonora vainly appeals to the Count to spare Manrico, and at last offers him her hand if he will save his life.  He consents, and Leonora hastens to the prison to convey the tidings, having previously taken poison, preferring to die rather than fulfil her hateful compact.  Manrico refuses his liberty, and as Leonora falls in a dying condition the Count enters and orders Manrico to be put to death at once.  He is dragged away to execution, but as the Count triumphantly forces Azucena to a window and shows her the tragic scene, she reveals her secret, and informing the horror-stricken Count that he has murdered his own brother, falls lifeless to the ground.

The first act opens with a ballad in mazurka time ("Abbietta Zingara"), in which Ferrando relates the story of the gypsy, leading up to a scena for Leonora, which is treated in Verdi’s favorite style.  It begins with an andante ("Tacea la notte placida"), a brief dialogue with her attendant Inez intervening, and then develops into an allegro ("Di tale amor”) which is a brilliant bit of bravura.  A brief snatch of fascinating melody behind the scenes ("Deserto sulla terra”) introduces Manrico, and the act closes with a trio ("Di geloso amor sprezzato"), which as an expression of combined grief, fear, and hate, is one of the most dramatic and intense of all Verdi’s finales.

The second act opens with the Anvil chorus in the camp of the gypsies ("La Zingarella"), the measures accented with hammers upon the anvils.  This number is so familiar that it does not need further reference.  As its strains die away in the distance, Azucena breaks out into an aria of intense energy, with very expressive accompaniment ("Stride le vampa"), in which she tells the fearful story of the burning of her mother.  A very dramatic dialogue with Manrico ensues, closing with a spirited aria for tenor ("Mai reggendo”) and duet ("Sino all’ elsa").  The scene is interrupted by the notes of a horn announcing the arrival of a messenger.  The second scene is introduced by a flowing, broad, and beautifully sustained aria for the Count ("Il balen del suo"), and, like Leonora’s numbers in the garden scene, again develops from a slow movement to a rapid and spirited march tempo ("Per me ora fatale"), the act closing with a powerful concerted effect of quartet and chorus.