Plácido Domingo stars in the concert version of “I due Foscari” in the Liceu
Giuseppe Verdi’s sixth opera made its debut in 1844 in the Teatro Argentino in Rome and can be seen on the 30th of April and the 3rd of May
The Gran Teatro del Liceu presents two concert performances of I due Foscari, the sixth opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. First performed in 1844, opera critics at time praised both the language and the individual passions of each of the characters. Based on the homonymous work by Lord Byron, I due Foscari portrays the final days of Francesco Foscari, the Doge of Venice, who must decide between his obligations as governor and his love for his son, who has been accused of murder.
Despite the wishes of Verdi himself to premiere the opera in La Fenice, the management of the famous Venetian theatre decided to censure the work due to its inappropriate nature, the fact being that the opera reveals the corruption and intrigue that was rife in the corridors of power in Venice at the time, with the ruling Foscari family itself coming under suspicion. The premiere was thus transferred to the Teatro Argentina, in Rome, where it opened on the 3rd of November, 1844.
The first production of the opera in the Gran Teatre del Liceu took place on the 12th of May, 1847, the most recent being the production celebrated on the 13th of November, 1977. No less than thirty eight year later, then, Verdi’s sixth opera returns to the Las Ramblas venue, where Placido Domingo will play the lead role in two concert performances featuring Massimo Zanetti as musical director and accompanied by voices the likes of Ramón Vargas, Liudmyla Monastyrska and Raymond Aceto.
I due Foscari. Concert performances
When: the 30th of April and the 3th of May
Tickets: from 9 up to 199 €
Where: Gran Teatre del Liceu
More information here