(The Two Foscari) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1821 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.
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.
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." It appears that Verdi had already submitted it to La Fenice at some earlier time, and so he encouraged Piave to work on it, "but stick closely to Byron" he noted.
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"." 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".
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.
Performance history
19th century
Reaction to the premiere was tempered by several elements outside of Verdi's control, including the recent rise in seat prices by the management and the rather lackluster quality of the performers' voices. But the reception given to the composer by the management was very enthusiastic as was that of some of the press, especially the critic of Rivista di Roma who noted that "even more than in Ernani, Verdi has endeavoured to shake off his former manner, to return to the springs of passion and affection".
Until the 1860s, the opera was seen in Italy in at least 22 towns and cities, including Livorno, Trieste, Naples, Parma, Bergamo, Teatro Carignano in Torino, Bologna, Catania, Florence, Cremona, Milan, and Modena through the 1846 season. It appeared in Barcelona in 1845 (July), in Lisbon, and Paris in 1846, in Venezia, and Prato in 1847, and in Palermo and Teatro Regio (Turin) between 1850 and 1851.
The first performances in the UK were given in London at Her Majesty's Theatre on 10 April 1847. In the US, the opera was first presented in Boston on 10 May 1847. Paris saw a production in December 1846 at the Théâtre des Italiens, and it was taken up by several major Italian opera houses.