BACKGROUND TO…
Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra
n many respects is your typical Verdi opera,, but this opera would be a bumpier ride. Premiered in 1857 with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, it was a flop; so 24 years later Verdi went back to the drawing board with a new librettist, Arrigo Boito. Their 1881 version, with its grand choral passages, was a resounding success.