With Il Trovatore Verdi seems to take an enormous leap, to raise himself above all previous work. It is unclear whether the composer was aware of this. The documents which concern the opera's preparation and first performance, between the end of 1852 and the beginning of 1853, do not contain many favourable comments. In a letter to Luccardi, Verdi goes into some detail:

The Venice opera was La Traviata. The general impression is that Verdi was above all pleased to have finished with Il Trovatore, as this allowed him to concentrate on his new opera, in which he resumed the style of Rigoletto. It is possible that Verdi considered Il Trovatore an annoying interruption, an opera which could not be relied on too heavily; and since the company of singers who performed the première was defective, lacking above all an adequate mezzo-soprano, later comments are also sparse. The opera was, however, a great success.