I due Foscari, Opera by G. Verdi
Featuring the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma Orchestra and Choir, this production of Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari at Rome's Teatro Costanzi conveys all of the passion and feeling of Byron's 1821 historical play, The Two Foscari, on which the opera is based. With a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, who had already worked with Verdi on Ernani and would go on to become one of the composer's principal librettists, this three-act opera is considered by many to be an important work in the maestro's development as a composer of psychologically complex musical drama.
Verdi had suggested adapting the English poet's drama for the La Fenice Opera House in Venice in 1843, but the idea ended up being shelved. Piave was an in-demand librettist when Verdi began to reconsider adapting Byron's stage play the following year. With Verdi setting his sights on turning the play into an opera once more, the maestro encouraged Piave to rework Byron’s original text somewhat. He felt that the play lacked the theatrical grandeur required for an opera and asked Piave to create a more dramatic and engaging story. The esteemed librettist didn't disappoint, adapting the source text to expand its dramatic range while maintaining the fervent sentiments the English poet had expressed in the original. In turn, this gave Verdi the chance to write music for the opera that was filled with strong emotions and powerful tensions.
I due Foscari was first performed on 3 November 1844 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. Set in Venice in 1457, the plot focuses on Francesco Foscari, the Doge of Venice, and his son, Jacopo. The Venetian authorities, known as the Council of Ten, find Jacopo guilty of murder and sentence him to exile from the city. His father, the Doge, is placed in the unenviable position of having to balance his responsibilities as ruler and as a parent. As events unfold, audiences get to appreciate Francesco Foscari's dilemma and emotional turmoil through arias such as O vecchio cor, che batti, in which the Doge reflects on his anguish over his son's fate in the first act. Equally, Jacopo's situation is vividly expressed in the aria Dal più remoto esilio, also from Act I, in which he reflects on the suffering of exile, having recently returned to Venice, and expresses his love for his home city.
Verdi's I due Foscari is often considered a highlight of his early career. This production at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma brings out all of the dramatic qualities of Piave's libretto with music by an all-time great of Italian opera that soars with emotional intensity throughout.