I Due Foscari
| I due Foscari | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Giuseppe Verdi | |
 |
|
| Librettist | Francesco Maria Piave |
| Language | Italian |
| Based on |
Lord Byron's historical play, The Two Foscari |
| Premiere | 3 November 1844 Teatro Argentina, Rome |
I due Foscari (The Two Foscari) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on a historical play, The Two Foscari by Lord Byron.
After his success with Ernani, Verdi received a commission from Rome's Teatro Argentina and he went to work with Piave in considering two subjects, one of which eventually became this opera. I due Foscari was given its premiere performance in Rome on 3 November 1844 and was generally quite successful, although not on the scale of Ernani, which remained Verdi's most popular opera until Il trovatore in 1853.
Today, Foscari is revived occasionally and its fortunes have been helped by the interest taken by tenor Plácido Domingo in singing baritone roles. He has already performed the role of the Doge in Los Angeles in 2012, in Valencia in early 2013, in Vienna and London in 2014, Barcelona in 2015, and Milan in 2016.
After Ernani, Verdi had considered a large number of projects for the future and the Byron play was one of them. Foscari had even been considered as early as 1843 when he had been approached by La Fenice in Venice, but it was rejected as unsuitable because the story included criticism of actions of the Republic of Venice which may have been offensive to the great families who had governed the Republic, including the extant Foscari family.
At the same time, the composer had accepted a commission from the Teatro Argentina in Rome and had considered the subject of Lorenzino de' Medici on which Piave had already begun work. Verdi encouraged the librettist to continue his work and then submit the work to the Roman authorities but, as a backup, he wrote: "But, just in case the police don't allow it, we'll have to think of a quick alternative and I suggest The Two Foscari. I like the plot and the outline is already there in Venice." It appears that Verdi had already submitted it to La Fenice at some earlier time, and so he encourages Piave to work on it, "but stick closely to Byron" he notes.
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