Cast
Francesco : Leo Nucci
Jacopo : Aquiles Machado
Lucrezia : Dimitra Theodossiu
Francisco Casanova, Giorgio Giuseppini, Tiziana Tramonti, Antonello Ceron, Gregory Bonfatti, Ernesto Panariello

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala
Riccardo Muti (conductor)

Director
Cesare Lievi

Our association with La Scala continues this excellent May 2003 production from the Arcimboldo Theatre, Milan - the temporary home of the La Scala company.

No Verdi opera is exactly an endangered species, but his early-ish tragedy I due Foscari his sixth opera, written in his early 30s and premiered in November 1844 is seen less in the wild than most. Based on Byron's play, it dramatises events from 15th-century Venice, with the central characters being the Foscari brothers. Perhaps surprisingly, given Byron's lurid personal dramas, the play is untheatrical and unmelodramatic something Verdi turned to his advantage by putting the emphasis on psychological and musical development rather than raw action. Hence, perhaps, I due Foscari's reputation as a relatively rarely-staged gem.