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Intrigue, family tragedies, power struggles – these words aptly describe Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Simon Boccanegra”. And the opera is somehow frighteningly topical: in this piece with only one female role, the men write history and the women are the victims. The world premiere flopped, but almost 25 years later the opera received thunderous applause at a new performance in Milan’s La Scala. Andreas Homoki has staged this second and revised version at the Zurich Opera House. Its premiere was one of the last conducted by outgoing music director Fabio Luisi and Christian Gerhaher’s much-lauded role debut as Simon Boccanegra.
Giuseppe Verdi
Simon Boccanegra
Opera in one prologue and three acts
Christian Gerhaher Simon Boccanegra
Jennifer Rowley Amelia Grimaldi
Christof Fischesser Jacopo Fiesco
Otar Jorjikia Gabriele Adorno
Nicholas Brownlee Paolo Albiani
Brent Michael Smith Pietro
Philharmonia Zürich
Chor der Oper Zürich
Fabio Luisi musical direction
Andreas Homoki staging
Christian Schmidt stage and costume design
Franck Evin lighting design
Fabio Dietsche dramaturgy
Janko Kastelic, chorus master
Recorded live at Opernhaus Zürich
December 2020
A production of Accentus Music
in co-production with NHK and SWR,
in cooperation with Arte and Opernhaus Zürich.
Directed for TV by: Michael Beyer
Length: 145:22
Format: 4K HDR
Sound: Stereo, 5.1
Year: 2020
Picture Credit: © Monika Rittershaus