Organization

Singer

Baritone

Plácido Domingo

Francesco Foscari

Louis Otey

Tenor

Arturo Chacón-Cruz

Jacopo Foscari

Soprano

Davinia Rodriguez

Lucrezia Contarini

Bass

Roberto Tagliavini

Jacopo Loredano

Andrew Owens

Barbarigo

Mezzo-soprano

Gaia Petrone

Pisana

Conductor

James Conlon

Stage director

Thaddeus Strassberger

Set designer

Kevin Knight

Costume designer

Mattie Ullrich

Lighting designer

Bruno Poet

Chorus master

Erwin Ortner

MusikTheater an der Wien

Others

Arnold Schoenberg Chor

LA Phil

Italian

I due Foscari -  (The Two Foscari)

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

I due Foscari Verdi

The Two Foscari

German

Approved

In 1844 Giuseppe Verdi was to write an opera for the Teatro La Fenice in Venice for the first time; he offered the drama The Two Foscari by Lord Byron as a model , in which the carnival-like Venice full of romantic love affairs is not shown, but the strict political laws and Structures of the Serenissima take center stage. However, the famous Council of Ten is presented as easy to deceive and nobles as vengeful and scheming, so the censors rejected the proposal. Instead, Verdi composed the opera Ernani for Venice ; He was then able to present I due Foscari on November 4,
1844 in Rome at the Teatro Argentino.

The Venetian doge Francesco Foscari has to send his son Jacopo into exile for a murder allegedly committed by him - but it is an intrigue of his opponent Loredano. Foscari is torn between his love for his son and his duty as a doge. Lucrezia, Jacopo's wife, firmly believes in her husband's innocence. She wants to accompany him into exile, she is not allowed to do so. When Jacopo is already on the galley that is supposed to take him to Crete, Francesco receives a letter proving Jacopo's innocence. But it's too late: Jacopo died on the galley. Francesco has to abdicate as doge, this disgrace and the loss of his son break his heart, he dies.

Byron's drama is a chamber play, unsuitable as the subject of a great opera. Verdi therefore instructed his librettist Francesco Maria Piave to also incorporate stirring moments: "Exert your mind and invent something that causes a little sensation." Despite large choral scenes and passionate outbursts of emotion, the work has retained its intimate character. It is precisely for this reason that Verdi succeeded in renewing his style with I due Foscari , and his character portrayal was refined and condensed. Verdi used themes associated with the figures, which, with transparent orchestration, give the work an artful structure - he thus offers, mostly unnoticed by music history, an alternative to Richard Wagner's leitmotif technique, which was developed at the same time.

English

The Two Foscari by Verdi, From (2014/2014), Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger,, Conductor James Conlon, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Co-Producer

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues