Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave (1857), new version by Arrigo Boito (1881)

Opera with a prologue and three acts
Although it should no longer be important in the City of Genoa – the Doge is elected by the people – entrenched party rivalry between the Patricians and the Plebeians is still strong. But the candidacy of Simon Boccanegra seems to offer the opportunity of reconciliation. He is elected Doge. And yet: he too becomes enmeshed in the tangle of family tragedies and power plays.

This is Verdi's most brittle work; its colours are dark, its feelings gloomy, its scenes – both public and private – brutal – yet it is full of the drive to love and freedom. Over 20 years were to pass following the unsuccessful first performance in 1857 before Verdi carried out a fundamental revision and reshaped the work completely with his new librettist Arrigo Boito. But in comparison with his Trilogia populare, the work suffered for a long time from the reputation of being inaccessible. Wrongly! Verdi said: "The piece is sombre, because it must be sombre, but it is enthralling!“

In Italian with German surtitles

New production

Coproduction with the English National Opera London

sponsored by
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Conductor Bertrand de Billy   
Production and Set Dmitri Tcherniakov   
Costumes Elena Zaytseva   
Lighting Gleb Filshtinsky   
Chöre Sören Eckhoff   

Simon Boccanegra Zeljko Lucic 12. July 2013  
George Gagnidze 14./17./21./24. Apr. 2014  
Amelia Grimaldi Krassimira Stoyanova   
Jacopo Fiesco Vitalij Kowaljow   
Gabriele Adorno Ramón Vargas 12. July 2013  
Stefano Secco 14./17./21./24. Apr. 2014  
Paolo Albiani Levente Molnár   
Pietro Goran Jurić   
Capitano Joshua Stewart   
Dienerin der Amelia Iulia Maria Dan   

The Bavarian State Orchestra
The Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera