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' (''The Two Foscari'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on a historical play, ''The Two Foscari'' by Lord Byron. After his success with ''Ernani'', Verdi received a commission from Rome's Teatro Argentina and he went to work with Piave in considering two subjects, one of which eventually became this opera. ''I due Foscari'' was given its premiere performance in Rome on 3 November 1844 and was generally quite successful, although not on the scale of ''Ernani'', which remained Verdi's most popular opera until ''Il trovatore'' in 1853. Today, ''Foscari'' is revived occasionally and its fortunes have been helped by the interest taken by tenor Plácido Domingo in singing baritone roles. He has already performed the role of the Doge in Los Angeles in 2012, in Valencia in early 2013, in Vienna〔(''I due Foscari'' ), performance details January 2014, Theater an der Wien〕 and London in 2014,〔(''I due Foscari'' ), performance details October 2014, Royal Opera House〕 and Barcelona in 2015. ==Composition history== After ''Ernani'', Verdi had considered a large number of projects for the future and the Byron play was one of them. ''Foscari'' had even been considered as early as 1843 when he had been approached by La Fenice in Venice, but it was rejected as unsuitable because the story included criticism of actions of the Republic of Venice which may have been offensive to the great families who had governed the Republic, including the extant Foscari family.〔Budden, pp. 176–177〕 At the same time, the composer had accepted a commission from the Teatro Argentina in Rome and had considered the subject of Lorenzino de' Medici on which Piave had already begun work. Verdi encouraged the librettist to continue his work and then submit the work to the Roman authorities but, as a backup, he wrote: "But, just in case the police don't allow it, we'll have to think of a quick alternative and I suggest ''The Two Foscari''. I like the plot and the outline is already there in Venice."〔Verdi to Piave, 18 April 1844, in Budden (1984), p. 175〕 It appears that Verdi had already submitted it to La Fenice at some earlier time, and so he encourages Piave to work on it, "but stick closely to Byron" he notes.〔 As it turned out, the de Medici libretto was rejected by the Teatro Argentina and ''I due Foscari'' was substituted. This gave Verdi the opportunity to re-read Byron's play and, in doing so, he came to the realization (which he expressed in a letter to Piave) that the librettist had better NOT 'stick close to Byron': "...the play does not quite have the theatrical grandeur needed for an opera; so rack your brains and try to find something which will make a bit of a splash particularly in the first act" and he continues by stressing that "it's a fine subject, delicate and full of pathos"."〔Verdi to Piave, date unknown, in Budden (1984), p. 177〕 Thus, the rather lower key of the original piece stood out in direct contrast to the opera by which it was succeeded. However, as musicologist Roger Parker notes, it appears that Verdi was "concentrating on personal confrontations rather than grand scenic effects".〔Parker (1998), pp. 1264–1266〕 Upon receiving the libretto by mid-May, the composer sent a long series of letters to the librettist over several months instructing him on many points where changes were needed. They revealed "the extent to which Verdi intervened in the making of the libretto, a good deal of the large-scale structure of the opera being dictated by his increasingly exigent theatrical instincts."〔 With the music completed over the summer, ''I due Foscari'' was given its Rome premiere performance on 3 November 1844. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「I due Foscari」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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