Simon Boccanegra

In the organizer's words:

Opera concertante by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Arrigo Boito

Perhaps Giuseppe Verdi's darkest opera in musical terms depicts merciless power games in medieval Genoa that could hardly be more bitter: Power here actually emanates from the people, but the political personnel are caught up in vested interests and intrigues. The office of Doge is up for grabs and Simon Boccanegra, who freed the city from pirates as a corsair, has been elected as the favorite of the popular party. But his plan to win the hand of his lover Maria fails catastrophically. The patrician daughter dies in the wheels of an eroded democracy and their daughter disappears without a trace. More than 20 years later, the ruthless game begins anew. Simon and Maria's daughter reappears under the name Amelia and, like her mother, becomes a pawn between plebeians and patricians. On the verge of an uprising, disaster strikes - for everyone involved.

More than 20 years passed after the premiere in 1857 before Giuseppe Verdi, with the help of his congenial librettist Arrigo Boito, revised the opera Simon Boccanegra and brought it back onto the European stage. Under the musical direction of our chief conductor Francesco Angelico, Simon Boccanegra now becomes a concertante singing festival for the opera ensemble at the Staatstheater Kassel.