GÖTEBORG: Simon  Boccanegra – A touching drama about power, love and forgiveness at The Göteborg Opera. Celebrating the 200 anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi.

Simon Boccanegra

Malin Byström returns to The Göteborg Opera as Simon Boccanegra’s lost daughter. In the title role: Italian baritone Stefano Antonucci. 
Simon Boccanegra is a politician and dreamer. An old man brooding over life – the things he remembers and what he would prefer to forget. He wants to be a good person and ruler, but it is difficult when everyone is intriguing around him
. The power is a burden to him and his sorrow over his missing daughter is difficult to bear. 
Simon Boccanegra is a warm and tender opera, full of beautiful arias and magnificent choral singing. 

Premiere April 6th. 2013

The two opera giants of the nineteenth century, Verdi and Wagner, both celebrate their 200th anniversary in 2013. For Verdi, The Opera in Gothenborg, Sweden will be celebrating this by performing his much-loved Simon Boccanegra.

In this opera, Verdi takes an overall perspective on one of his favourite themes: the study of power, its conditions and how it is possible to exercise power well and justly when there is intrigue and various factions at work all around you. Some powerful autobiographical strands also permeate the work. The open wound that the loss of his wife and children inflicted on Verdi finds expression in the opera, as does the recurring theme of love between father and daughter
.

This hugely successful and visually lavish production from the Hamburg Opera, directed by the illustrious Claus Guth, depicts the way in which power can be a burden on our lives. Threads are elegantly woven showing how the events of yesteryear encroach on the characters’ lives – the past affects the present.

Italian baritone Stefano Antonucci interprets the title role and pours life into Verdi’s baritone pieces. There is a welcome reappearance by Malin Byström as his daughter Amelia, following her success with Thaïs. In the tenor role, there is an exciting guest performance by the Mexican Arturo Chacón-Cruz, while Anders Lorentzson faces a new challenge as Fiesco’s multi-faceted villainous father figure. There can hardly be a better way in which to celebrate this Verdi anniversary than by handing over the baton to our guest principal conductor Giancarlo Andretta.

Opera in prologue and three acts by GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813-1901). Libretto FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE and ARRIGO BOITO after a play by ANTONIO GUTIÉRREZ. Performed in Italian with Swedish surtitles.

Please read Fabio Bardellis review from La Boheme in Florence with Stefano Antonucci as Marcel: http://www.kulturkompasset.com/2011/12/la-boheme-in-florence/