Simon Boccanegra

Opera in three acts with prologyLibretto: Francesco Maria PiavePraPremiere: 12/03/1857, Teatro La Fenice in VenicePremiere of this production: 14/02/2025, TW-ONOriginal Italian language version with Polish and English subtitlesThe performance uses the effects of a flashing strobe light of low intensity

Agnieszka Smoczyńska brings to the opera the breadth of her gaze and the imagination of a film director, whose achievements include the beloved by the audience and the critically-awarded Daughters of Dancing. He translates his staging by Simon Boccanegra into images of the post-apocalyptic world, devastated by the climate catastrophe. The totality of this vision, completely removed from the reality of the original libretto, corresponds to the character of Verdi's music and the deep, social dimension of this opera. For it tells not only about the fate of individuals, but also about the relationship between those in power and those whom they should serve — members of society. In the power of music and images, the director is looking for a way to awaken the viewer and win his attention, to direct his thoughts towards the responsibility and duty that comes with power, contrary to the fairly common belief about the privileges of the ruling. In the hands of Smoczyńska, Simon Boccanegra becomes a topical message, using the beauty and power of opera.

Simon Boccanegra was created in the 1850s, at a time when Giuseppe Verdi, winged with growing fame, was challenging the opera tradition. It is a dark work, with a predominance of low voices, with the baritone as the main protagonist, without supporting female roles. The premiere in 1857 was not well received, at the end of Arrigo Boito's life, together with the composer, they made far-reaching changes to the work, and only this 1881 version was successful on opera stages.

It is easy to get lost in the meanders of the libretto, because an important part of the story takes place before the curtain is lifted, and the characters, as a result of coincidence, take on different identities that are only discovered during the course of the opera. At the same time, however, this story is centered around universal themes of interest to Verdi: love, jealousy, longing, loyalty and betrayal.

Simon Boccanegra, a privateer at the service of Genoa, becomes first Doge with the support of the plebeians. A political career is not his goal, but he hopes that coming to power will allow him to buy into the graces of a would-be father-in-law rejecting a patrician's relationship with a low-born fiancé. The story of a privateer climbing to the top somehow against himself ends tragically — poisoned by a former ally and friend. However, the Doge manages to find her missing daughter early and secure her future at the side of a loving man. The finale of this story about the power of romantic and paternal love harnessed to the modes of the political machine is bittersweet.

Simon Boccanegra is a historical figure from the 14th century, although the composer was fascinated not by the biography itself, but by its theatrical elaboration by Antonio García Gutiérrez, who was the author of another drama, on the basis of which Verdi's other opera with an equally intricate action, Trubadur, was created earlier. Thanks to Gutiérrez's play, the composer was able to move away from operatic pathos and one-dimensional characters, he found in it what interested him most: ambiguous characters and deep psychological portraits. This is especially evident in the case of Boccanegra, a privateer elevated to the highest office in the state and transformed into a statesman, and at the same time a victim of political intrigue, but also a hero with a human character: a suffering lover, a ruler, but also a tender father.

Agnieszka Smoczyńska made her debut with the production of Simon Boccanegra in the opera theatre in 2025.

Choir and Orchestra of the Great Theatre - Operas Narodowejancerze